Waterbury, CT
Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Waterbury ranks 151st for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 122nd for income. A household earns $79,889 a year while median rent runs $1,407/mo, making it moderately affordable for what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 0% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is health (70th of 300), while commute is the soft spot (262nd). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 186th and home prices 180th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Waterbury, your take-home is worth about $58,067 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 122nd of 300$79,889
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 212th of 300100 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $80,067
- Per-capita income
- $44,066
- Full-time pay
- $51,652
Housing
- Median rent
- 186th of 300$1,407/mo
- Home value
- 180th of 300$344,300
- Property tax
- $5,921/yr · 1.7%
- Sales tax
- 6.35%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 198th of 3004.9%
- Bachelor's+
- 162nd of 30032.6%
- Avg commute
- 262nd of 30028.5 min
People
- Population
- 462,220
- Median age
- 41.6 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 13.2%
- Broadband
- 92.9%
Environment & risk
- Natural-hazard loss
- 192nd of 300$15/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 70th of 30016.3%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 11.3%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Health
Watch-outs
- – Cost of living
- – Commute
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — meriden markham muni ap.
What jobs pay in Waterbury
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- IT managers
- $169,760
- Financial managers
- $167,320
- Lawyers
- $157,380
- Pharmacists
- $138,110
- Software developers
- $131,290
- General & operations managers
- $130,900
- Family medicine physicians
- $128,290
- Registered nurses
- $101,690
- Civil engineers
- $99,620
- Accountants & auditors
- $93,010
- Police officers
- $82,830
- Web developers
- $82,750
- Secondary school teachers
- $81,070
- Elementary school teachers
- $79,640
- Plumbers
- $76,880
- Electricians
- $75,850
- Carpenters
- $62,250
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $59,750
- Construction laborers
- $56,710
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $49,000
- Customer service reps
- $46,590
- Janitors
- $39,990
- Waiters & waitresses
- $36,890
- Retail salespersons
- $35,360
- Cashiers
- $35,100
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Cities like Waterbury
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Waterbury metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Waterbury metro?
- Median gross rent across the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area is $1,407 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Waterbury.
- What is the median household income in the Waterbury metro?
- A typical household in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area earns $79,889 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Waterbury expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area runs about 0% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Waterbury metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $80,067 (versus its face value of $79,889). CityLedger rates the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area moderately affordable for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Waterbury metro?
- The median home value across the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area is $344,300 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Waterbury metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Waterbury-Shelton, CT Metro Area is 4.9% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).