State rental market analysis · CT
Connecticut rental markets
28 tracked cities over 5,000 population, 21 ranked and summarized by their median Overall; 0 of 21 evaluable cities pass the modeled Buy & Hold screen. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. Compare state coverage and results →
Browse every Connecticut ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the New England Census division (Northeast region).
The honest read
Connecticut has a median Overall of 43.6/100 across its ranked cities, but it is not assigned a headline state rank: 21 cities across 8 county contexts are evaluable for the Buy & Hold screen, below the published minimum of 20 cities and 10 county contexts. 21 ranked cities roll up into this grade. Its strongest factor is home-value growth: 6.9%, 1st of 51, backed by rent growth (2nd).
The biggest drag is income growth: 4.3%, 46th of 51. A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 21 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 6.4% | #16 of 51 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 5.2% | #2 of 51 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 6.9% | #1 of 51 |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.5% | #28 of 51 |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.2% | #41 of 51 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 5.4× | #34 of 51 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 4.1% | #26 of 51 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 51% renters · 4.1% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 4.3% | #46 of 51 |
Every city in Connecticut, ranked
Led by Danbury at 53/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| CT rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danbury | 53 | C | C | B | $492,946 | 6.2% | #1506 |
| 2 | Naugatuck | 51 | C | C | B | $353,857 | 6.6% | #1818 |
| 3 | Middletown | 51 | C | C | B | $368,256 | 6.5% | #1838 |
| 4 | Groton | 50 | D | B | C | $447,813 | 5.9% | #1967 |
| 5 | Shelton | 50 | D | C | B | $565,911 | 5.4% | #2004 |
| 6 | Bristol | 49 | D | C | B | $350,637 | 5.8% | #2138 |
| 7 | Milford | 48 | C | C | B | $510,828 | 5.8% | #2290 |
| 8 | Derby | 47 | C | C | C | $343,257 | 6.6% | #2371 |
| 9 | Meriden | 46 | C | C | C | $328,086 | 7.0% | #2582 |
| 10 | Ansonia | 44 | D | C | C | $385,949 | 6.0% | #2834 |
| 11 | Hartford | 44 | B | C | D | $203,792 | 9.4% | #2919 |
| 12 | Norwalk | 43 | D | C | B | $676,843 | 4.9% | #2952 |
| 13 | West Haven | 43 | D | D | B | $366,562 | 6.5% | #2990 |
| 14 | Torrington | 42 | D | D | B | $301,660 | 6.3% | #3150 |
| 15 | Norwich | 42 | C | D | C | $306,163 | 7.2% | #3191 |
| 16 | New Haven | 41 | D | C | D | $339,182 | 7.1% | #3339 |
| 17 | Bridgeport | 40 | D | C | C | $364,989 | 6.5% | #3368 |
| 18 | Stamford | 39 | F | C | B | $724,387 | 4.9% | #3543 |
| 19 | New London | 39 | D | C | C | $331,435 | 5.9% | #3553 |
| 20 | New Britain | 31 | F | C | D | $312,170 | 6.2% | #4271 |
| 21 | Waterbury | 30 | D | C | D | $287,514 | 6.4% | #4294 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
Limited-data cities in Connecticut
These 7 cities lack enough measured factors to rank, so they are excluded from the state grade; their pages show exactly what could be measured.
ZIP markets in Connecticut
288 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Connecticut · 213 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Connecticut city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), the same release the city table above uses; the geographies differ, so the same measure can still disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Connecticut
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical CT state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Connecticut city table and not directly comparable to it.
| CT rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 06042Manchester | A 67#1,002 nat | 8.8%Survey yield |
| #2 | 06810Danbury | A 66#1,458 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| #3 | 06066Rockville | A 65#1,657 nat | 6.2%Survey yield |
| #4 | 06854Norwalk | A 64#1,927 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| #5 | 06082Hazardville | B 63#2,176 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| #5 | 06901Stamford | B 63#2,176 nat | 6.4%Survey yield |
| #7 | 06010Bristol | B 63#2,244 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #8 | 06457Middletown | B 63#2,349 nat | 5.9%Survey yield |
| #9 | 06340Conning Towers-Nautilus Park | B 61#2,957 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| #10 | 06070Simsbury Center | B 61#3,160 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #11 | 06111Newington | B 61#3,241 nat | 5.9%Survey yield |
| #12 | 06032Newington | B 60#3,323 nat | 5.2%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Connecticut
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06796West Cornwall | 50#9,517 nat | 5.5%Survey yield |
| 2 | 06282Lake Bungee | 50#9,566 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 3 | 06088 | 48#10,241 nat | 8.6%Survey yield |
| 4 | 06380Norwich | 48#10,241 nat | 7.9%Survey yield |
| 5 | 06120Hartford | 48#10,335 nat | 8.3%Survey yield |
| 6 | 06042Manchester | 48#10,520 nat | 8.8%Survey yield |
| 7 | 06096Windsor Locks | 47#11,061 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 8 | 06002Blue Hills | 46#11,178 nat | 7.9%Survey yield |
| 9 | 06280South Windham | 46#11,178 nat | 8.3%Survey yield |
| 10 | 06112Hartford | 46#11,261 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 11 | 06340Conning Towers-Nautilus Park | 45#11,890 nat | 6.5%Survey yield |
| 12 | 06082Hazardville | 44#12,188 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Connecticut
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06607Bridgeport | 83#43 nat | 7.2%Survey yield |
| 2 | 06605Bridgeport | 83#47 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| 3 | 06089Weatogue | 82#118 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |
| 4 | 06515New Haven | 81#194 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| 5 | 06106Hartford | 79#329 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |
| 6 | 06332 | 78#407 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 7 | 06018Canaan | 78#479 nat | 5.0%Survey yield |
| 8 | 06604Bridgeport | 78#491 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
| 9 | 06320New London | 78#518 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 10 | 06854Norwalk | 77#559 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| 11 | 06226Willimantic | 77#573 nat | 6.9%Survey yield |
| 12 | 06606Bridgeport | 77#662 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |