Connecticut and the other New England states have a town structure that residents of most other states aren't familiar with. The entire state is divided into 169 towns, so that all the land in the state is assigned to a town.
This differs from other parts of the U.S., especially in the West, where large areas of land are considered 'unincorporated.' Since the land area of towns were set well before urban sprawl of the Eastern Seaboard enveloped Connecticut, the population of the biggest cities in Connecticut may not look impressive to those used to the million or more residents of cities in states where cities were allowed to annex additional land.
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All population counts are according to the
2010 U.S. census.
1. Bridgeport: 144,229
The biggest city in Connecticut comes in at No. 172 nationwide. However, at only 16 square miles in land area, the population density is similar to the Los Angeles metro area.
2. New Haven: 129,779
This home to Yale University was the co-capital of Connecticut until 1873.
3. Hartford: 124,775
The state capital is the largest inland city in Connecticut. It is home to numerous large insurance companies, including Aetna, The Hartford, UnitedHealthcare, and Travelers.
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4. Stamford: 122,643
Stamford is considered part of the Greater New York metropolitan area. It is home to many companies that chose to move out of New York, but remain close to the resources and workforce of the much larger city. Four Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in Stamford. NBC Sports moved studio operations to Stamford in 2013.
5. Waterbury: 110,366
The Brass City was home of the largest brass casting and clockmaking manufacturers in the early 1900s, but economic decline hit the town until
Forbes magazine qualified Waterbury as possibly the worst place to do business in the U.S. in 2008.
6. Norwalk: 85,603
Norwalk was a key port in Connecticut's oyster farming industry through the early 20th century. The Norwalk Oyster Festival held each September. The event draws about 60,000 people and raises money for preservation of Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound.
7. Danbury: 80,893
The Hat City was once home to 12 large hat factories employing 2,000 people and manufacturing about 25 percent of the nation's headwear. Pharmaceuticals replaced fedoras as the primary employer in the town with Boehringer Ingelheim's research center employing 2,547 people.
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