What is the cost of living in Waterbury-Shelton?

Waterbury-Shelton has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 99.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 89.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,788/month.

What is the median salary in Waterbury-Shelton?

The median salary in Waterbury-Shelton is $72,471 annually (mean: $76,876). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.

How safe is Waterbury-Shelton?

The violent crime rate in the Waterbury-Shelton area is 139 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1397 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Waterbury-Shelton?

The state of CT has 1,005 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.1:1. Charter schools make up 2.1% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Waterbury-Shelton?

Infant center-based childcare in the Waterbury-Shelton area averages $17,127 per year. Preschool averages $13,559/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Waterbury-Shelton a good place to relocate?

Waterbury-Shelton has a Life Score of 41.9/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Waterbury-Shelton sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Waterbury-Shelton ranks #87 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Waterbury-Shelton, CT

LiveAbility 57.9/100 places Waterbury-Shelton #87 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

99.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,788
2BR rent / mo: $72,471
Median salary: 57.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Waterbury-Shelton ranks #87 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (57.9/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and safety.

#87
of 387 US metros · Above median: 3,675,069
metro-area population: 139
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,005
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (15/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Waterbury-Shelton ranks #87 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 99.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,788/mo, median salary $72,471; LiveAbility Score 57.9/100, strongest in low hazard and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 57.9/100 places Waterbury-Shelton #87 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 99.8 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,788/mo.

LiveAbility 57.9/100 puts Waterbury-Shelton in the top third (#87 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Waterbury-Shelton area is 153,560.

Waterbury-Shelton vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 22% higher than 78% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Waterbury-Shelton housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Waterbury-Shelton MSA; housing RPP 89.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,788/mo.

Studio

$1,246

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,445

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,788

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,210

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,864

/month

Waterbury-Shelton wages and employment

Waterbury-Shelton posts 153,560 total employment with median salary $72,471 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$72,471

Mean Salary

$76,876

Total Employment

153,560

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$37,690
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$34,850
Cashiers	$35,100
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,890
General and Operations Managers	$130,900

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Waterbury-Shelton area from NCES.

Schools

1,005

Enrollment

491,941

Student:Teacher

12.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Waterbury-Shelton area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,127

per year

Toddler (Center)

$17,127

per year

Preschool (Center)

$13,559

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Waterbury-Shelton's composite Life Score is 41.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

24/100

Weak

Wages

83/100

Elite

Rent

15/100

Bottom decile

Crime

90/100

Elite

Schools

11/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

9/100

Bottom decile

Environment

27/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Waterbury-Shelton ranks #87 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 57.9/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (98/100)

Low hazard

98
Safety

90
Schools

89
Job market

83
Cost of living

24
Climate

22
Housing

15

What this shows Waterbury-Shelton's strongest dimensions are low hazard and safety; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 15/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Waterbury-Shelton to

Auburn-Opelika Augusta-Richmond County Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Bakersfield-Delano Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Bangor

Metros near Waterbury-Shelton on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Waterbury-Shelton on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Waterbury-Shelton cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Waterbury-Shelton wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Waterbury-Shelton?

Waterbury-Shelton runs a $72,471 median salary at a 99.8 cost index, ranking #87 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Waterbury-Shelton's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Waterbury-Shelton head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Waterbury-Shelton
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.