The Census Bureau can be a valuable source of information on the well-being of children and families in your town.  Each year, Connecticut Voices for Children summarizes the latest estimates of poverty, income, and health insurance coverage for the state and for cities and towns.

We’ve just summarized the latest Census estimates from the American Community Survey for all Connecticut towns of:

• people in poverty,
• children in poverty,
• median household income,
• uninsured people, and
• uninsured children.

We also looked at whether there have been statistically significant changes in these estimates over time. Where should you look for the latest Census estimates for your city or town?

• For data for all cities and towns, including the smaller ones, the most recent estimates are for the five-year period of 2008 to 2012.  Because the American Community Survey (ACS) is based on information gathered from a sample of local residents, the "sample size" in each town can be small in any one year.  So the Census Bureau averages together five years of data to create more reliable estimates.
• For mid-sized to large cities and towns — those with populations greater than 20,000 – the most recent measures are three-year average estimates for 2010 to 2012.  There are 54 such cities and towns in the state.
• For Connecticut’s eight largest cities — Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, and Waterbury — the most recent figures are 2012 single-year estimates.  Estimates for 2012 are also available for the state, its counties, and its five Congressional districts.

As I mentioned, in our summaries, we assess whether there have been statistically significant changes over time in poverty, income, and (when possible) uninsured estimates. If, for example, a change in an estimate of poverty over time is not statistically significant, it is not accurate to say that poverty has increased or decreased in that area.  Margins of error for smaller cities and towns can be quite wide, so be cautious and pay attention to those margins when making comparisons between towns.

On the pages above, you'll also find our links to more detailed "profile pages" on the Census website that have a wide range of additional social, economic, housing and demographic data.  Links to all of these estimates and related summaries can also be found on our Census Data Resources page.