Gold Coast (Connecticut)

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Gold Coast of Fairfield County Fairfield County.jpg
Gold Coast of Fairfield County
Waveny Park in New Canaan. Part of the Gold Coast of Connecticut, 2017 Momretirementparty (1 of 1)-6.jpg
Waveny Park in New Canaan. Part of the Gold Coast of Connecticut, 2017

The Gold Coast, also known as Lower Fairfield County or Southwestern Connecticut, is an affluent part of Western Connecticut that includes the entire southern portion of Fairfield County as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Super-Public Use Microdata Area (Super-PUMA) Region 09600. The area is about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New York City, and is home to many wealthy Manhattan business executives. [1] Parts of the region are served by the Western Connecticut Council of Governments.

The Gold Coast of Connecticut is often portrayed in culture as a bastion of wealth. [2] Since the mid-20th century, a number of novels and films have been set here, including Gentleman's Agreement , The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit , Revolutionary Road , Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House , The Swimmer , The Stepford Wives , and The Ice Storm . The Showtime drama series Billions highlights the area's prominence as a haven for hedge funds and other financial services firms.

Municipalities and neighborhoods

The "Gold Coast" is most notable for the expensive waterfront properties located along its shore, as well as the proximity of its cities and towns to New York City. Historically, Greenwich has been the crown jewel of the state, owing primarily to its access to water and proximity to Manhattan. As of 2018, Riverside, a Greenwich neighborhood located immediately to the east of the town's center, has surpassed Greenwich proper to become the wealthiest town in the state, with an average income of $740,130, compared to Greenwich's $721,550. [3] Much of this can be attributed to changing buyer tastes, favoring walkable neighborhoods with amenities and easy train access, all of which Riverside is known for. Much of Greenwich stretches far north of the coast and the New Haven commuter railroad line, and consists of old/retired wealthy individuals and families who do not frequently commute to Manhattan.

After Riverside and Greenwich, the next four richest towns are Darien ($599,920), New Canaan ($532,440), Old Greenwich ($530,250), and Rowayton ($422,210). All of these towns are located not too far east of Greenwich and Riverside, and (besides New Canaan) are located on the coast.

Greenwich has the lowest mill rate, which may indicate higher property value, with Darien ranking second. [4]

In 2000, New Canaan had a higher percentage of resident homeowners (83%) than Greenwich (69%), which may indicate more wealth. According to some sources, New Canaan should be considered the wealthiest town along the Gold Coast because of its higher rate of home ownership, suggesting a higher level of personal assets. [5] In July 2011, The Daily Fairfield reported that Darien was the state's richest town. [6]

An additional consideration is to measure wealth per person - not aggregate town wealth. Both the Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List per Capita (AENGLC) Wealth Value and the CPR AENGLC Wealth Value show that Greenwich has the highest wealth value in Connecticut, at more than $430,000 per person. The AENGLC is based on the value of residential and commercial real estate, and measures the town's tax base available to pay for public education (see Conn. Dep of Ed). It is not a measure of the personal wealth of individual residents. [7]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwich, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Greenwich is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Connecticut's affluent Gold Coast. Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and financial services firms due to its residential setting and proximity to Manhattan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darien, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Darien is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles (34 km2), it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast.

Connecticut is a state of the United States in the New England region.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Darien, Connecticut</span>

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The history of Greenwich, Connecticut, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Bridgeport</span> Metropolitan statistical area in Connecticut, United States

Stamford-Bridgeport-Norwalk is a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The area is located in Southwestern Connecticut. In its most conservative form, the area consists of the City of Bridgeport and five surrounding towns—Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull. This definition of the Stamford area has a population of more than 305,000 and is within the Stamford -Bridgeport-Norwalk-Danbury metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Fairfield County, Connecticut. The estimated 2015 county population was 948,053. The area is numbered as part of the New York-Newark Combined Statistical Area NY-NJ-CT-PA by the United States Census Bureau.

Coastal Connecticut, often called the Connecticut Shore or the Connecticut Shoreline, comprises all of Connecticut's southern border along Long Island Sound, from Greenwich in the west to Stonington in the east, as well as the tidal portions of the Housatonic River, Quinnipiac River, Connecticut River, and Thames River. It includes the southern sections of the state's Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.

FCIAC, the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, was established in 1961 and is made up of high schools throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. FCIAC hosts more than 100 combined championship/tournament games for all sports throughout the academic year. The conference comprises 17 schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noroton Heights, Connecticut</span> Census-designated place in Connecticut, United States

Noroton Heights is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Darien, Connecticut, United States. The community is located on Connecticut's Gold Coast. Located close to Long Island Sound, in the Connecticut panhandle, it is approximately 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Midtown Manhattan and immediately to the east of Stamford. As of the 2020 census, the CDP has a population of 3,116.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Stamford</span> Neighborhood in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Route 123</span> State highway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, US

Route 123 is a secondary state highway in southwestern Connecticut from Norwalk to the New York state line near the town of Lewisboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noroton River</span> River in the United States of America

The Noroton River is a 9.4-mile-long (15.1 km) stream which forms most of the border between Stamford and Darien, Connecticut, United States. The river's headwaters are in New Canaan, Connecticut and flow into Holly Pond. It is the largest flowing body of water between the Mill River/Rippowam River to the west and the Fivemile River to the east, although Stony Brook and the Goodwives River in Darien are not much smaller.

References

  1. ↑ "Census.gov website retrieved 2011-06-26" (PDF). Retrieved Oct 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ Harris, Paul (15 February 2013). "Connecticut's wealthy Gold Coast: where life is good, if you can afford it". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Top 25 Wealthiest Zipcodes in Connecticut". Zipdatamaps.com. Retrieved Oct 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ "16 Lowest Mill Rates in Connecticut | Patch". Brookfield, CT Patch. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  5. ↑ How Census Income Estimates Provide Misleading Statistics on Personal Income for Connecticut Towns [ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Darien Rises to the Top of the State" Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine , The Daily Fairfield; retrieved 2011-07-03
  7. ↑ "Connecticut State Department of Education". CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website. Retrieved Oct 25, 2021.
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