Hartford, Connecticut population is 121,981 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #249 nationally and #4 in Connecticut. Cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $117,590/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 11 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
At a glance.
2025 population
121,981
+140 in the last year
Top 2% of 19,483 U.S. cities
Census Vintage 2025
Cost of living
RPP 97.9
−2.1% vs US
non-metro · BEA 2024
Family-of-4 budget
$117,590/yr
+47% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$46,411
−40% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$228,600
−25% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$1,865/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
85°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
98%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Explore Hartford, CT demographics, including age, race and ethnicity, households, origins, language, and education.
How many people live in Hartford?
121,981 people live in Hartford as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #249 largest U.S. city.
How big is Hartford?
Hartford covers 17.4 square miles of land and 0.7 square miles of water. Its population density is about 7,006 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 0.3% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 121,657 → 2025: 121,981 (+0.3%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
121,657
April 1, 2020
2020
120,479
July 1, 2020
2021
120,803
July 1, 2021
2022
120,823
July 1, 2022
2023
121,137
July 1, 2023
2024
121,841
July 1, 2024
2025
121,981
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population shrank 2.6% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Hartford is the #249 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #4 in Connecticut.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
121,657
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+324
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+0.3%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+140
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.1%
within V2025 only
Density
7,006
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
17.4
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#249
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#4
of 30 in Connecticut
What is the median household income in Hartford?
Median household income is 40% below the U.S. median ($46,411 vs $77,719); 26.3% live in poverty — 13.8 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$46,411
US
Hartford: $46,411 — 40% below the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Hartford
$46,411
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Hartford from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
46,411-40.3% vs US
±3,031
Per capita income
27,841-35.7% vs US
±1,163
Population in poverty
26.3%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 25% below the U.S. median ($228,600 vs $303,400); median rent is 6% below ($1,269 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 4.9×, making it 1.3× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Median home value$228,600
US
Hartford: $228,600 — 25% below the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,865/mo
US
Hartford: $1,865/mo — 73% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Hartford. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
5.0%
Hartford (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
56,616
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
9.4%-32.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Hartford sits in Hartford County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Hartford County
—
—
—
Occupational wage data is not available for non-metropolitan areas. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics publishes at the metro level only. See methodology §25.
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$5,553/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Connecticut · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
23.9% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (35.3% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Hartford's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
Hottest month: July (85°F avg high). Coldest: January (19°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 47.5 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Hartford from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
10 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 98% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Hartford from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
10 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
8
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
97.7%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
97.7%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
63,332
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Hartford sits at state rank #4 among 30 cities in Connecticut. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Thousand Oaks, CA · #248 · 122,230 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Berkeley, CA · #250 · 121,911 residents.
Quick travel facts for Hartford
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Bradley International Airport(BDL) · 12 mi 19 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
May · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Hartford.
How many people live in Hartford, CT?
Hartford has 121,981 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #249 largest city in the United States and #4 in Connecticut. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Hartford growing or shrinking?
Hartford has grown 0.3% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 324 residents, including a 0.1% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Hartford's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Hartford is 0937000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
