A just-released update to Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation’s demographic report on the 20 towns that it serves (including Norfolk) reveals stark realities.
In short, birth rates continue to be low—Norfolk had the lowest average birth rate with six births per year on average, and death rates are high because of an aging population, home costs are astronomical and young home buyers and renters are being frozen out throughout the region.
In Norfolk, between 2017 and 2023, the increase in the median value of a home was $183,274 (up 66 percent). The annual increase of combined mortgage and utilities costs was $24,996 (up 93 percent), while the median increase in household income was only $7,718 (up 10 percent). [
Norfolk’s median home values are between $401,000 and $500,000.
The report is estimated that to provide the basics necessary to live and work in Litchfield County requires an annual income of $50,679 for one adult and one child. This ranges up to $97,875 for a family of four with one child in childcare and one in school.
Data for each of the 20 towns was analyzed and compared to the data from the 2017 report to determine what has changed. The new report reveals that trends identified in 2017 have not only come to fruition but are more pronounced today than seven years ago.
The full report can be found here.