Waterbury, Connecticut population is 115,771 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #267 nationally and #5 in Connecticut. Cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $102,573/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
115,771
+270 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
$102,573/yr
+28% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$51,886
−33% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$208,500
−31% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$1,788/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
83°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
92%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Explore Waterbury, CT demographics, including age, race and ethnicity, households, origins, language, and education.
How many people live in Waterbury?
115,771 people live in Waterbury as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #267 largest U.S. city.
How big is Waterbury?
Waterbury covers 28.6 square miles of land and 0.4 square miles of water. Its population density is about 4,054 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 1.2% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 114,452 → 2025: 115,771 (+1.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
114,452
April 1, 2020
2020
113,875
July 1, 2020
2021
114,573
July 1, 2021
2022
114,716
July 1, 2022
2023
115,186
July 1, 2023
2024
115,501
July 1, 2024
2025
115,771
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 2.5% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Waterbury is the #267 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #5 in Connecticut.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
114,452
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+1,319
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+1.2%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+270
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.2%
within V2025 only
Density
4,054
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
28.6
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#267
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#5
of 30 in Connecticut
What is the median household income in Waterbury?
Median household income is 33% below the U.S. median ($51,886 vs $77,719); 24.7% live in poverty — 12.2 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$51,886
US
Waterbury: $51,886 — 33% below the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Waterbury
$51,886
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Waterbury 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
51,886-33.2% vs US
±2,278
Per capita income
29,542-31.8% vs US
±1,682
Population in poverty
24.7%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 31% below the U.S. median ($208,500 vs $303,400); median rent is 9% below ($1,225 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (4.0×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Median home value$208,500
US
Waterbury: $208,500 — 31% below the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,788/mo
US
Waterbury: $1,788/mo — 66% 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 Waterbury. 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%
Waterbury (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
53,106
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
8.3%-40.9% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Waterbury sits in New Haven County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
New Haven 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.
All items run 2.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.9); utilities run 52.1% above (RPP 152.1) — the area's utility cost premium is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 97.9
US
Waterbury's cost of living runs 2.1% below the U.S. average (RPP 97.9 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 97.9
−2.1% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · non-metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,788/mo
FY2026 · Waterbury-Shelton, CT MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
6.99%
7 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,548/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,476/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.
20.1% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (28.4% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Waterbury'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 (83°F avg high). Coldest: January (18°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 50.5 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Waterbury 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
9 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 92% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Waterbury 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
9 + 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
92.4%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
92.4%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
53,556
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Waterbury sits at state rank #5 among 30 cities in Connecticut. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Evansville, IN · #266 · 116,176 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Elgin, IL · #268 · 115,476 residents.
Quick travel facts for Waterbury
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Tweed New Haven Airport(HVN) · 22 mi 35 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 Waterbury.
How many people live in Waterbury, CT?
Waterbury has 115,771 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #267 largest city in the United States and #5 in Connecticut. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Waterbury growing or shrinking?
Waterbury has grown 1.2% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 1,319 residents, including a 0.2% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Waterbury's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Waterbury is 0980000. 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.
