Middlesex County, Connecticut

Middlesex County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,245. The county was created in May 1785 from portions of Hartford County and New London County.

Middlesex County is included in the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown metropolitan statistical area known as Greater Hartford.

As with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is now no county government and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including local police, fire and rescue, snow removal, and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources, e.g. water, gas, etc. On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau formally recognized Connecticut's nine councils of governments as county equivalents instead of the state's eight counties. Connecticut's county governments were disbanded in 1960, and the councils of governments took over some of the local governmental functions. Connecticut's eight historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes.https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut Federal Register: Change to County-Equivalents in the State of Connecticut

Government

Middletown was the county seat of Middlesex County from its creation in 1785 until the elimination of county government in 1960. There is no government in Middlesex County other than the Middlesex County Judicial District. All county functions other than courts and county sheriff's departments were discontinued in 1960, and again in 2000 when the county sheriff's departments were reorganized as the Connecticut Judicial Marshal, due to political corruption in the county sheriff's departments. Joseph E. Bibisi was the last person to serve as high sheriff of Middlesex County.

Geography The county has a total area of , of which is land and (15.9%) is water. It is the smallest county in Connecticut by land area and second-smallest by total area.

The terrain trends from mostly level along the Connecticut River and Atlantic coast to gently rolling uplands away from them. The highest elevation is close to a triangulation station in Meshomasic State Forest, at above sea level; the lowest point is sea level.

Middlesex County is also the home of Wadsworth Falls.

Adjacent counties Hartford County (north) New London County (east) New Haven County (west) Suffolk County, New York (south)

National protected areas Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge (part) Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 164,245. Of the residents, 17.2% were under the age of 18 and 21.4% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 46.4 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.9 males. 70.8% of residents lived in urban areas and 29.2% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 82.0% White, 5.2% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.0% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 6.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.3% of the population.

There were 68,685 households in the county, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 76,289 housing units, of which 10.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.0% were owner-occupied and 27.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.

Racial and ethnic composition +Middlesex County, Connecticut – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)121,567132,667138,979143,144131,95494.23%92.65%89.62%86.40%80.34%Black or African American alone (NH)4,7115,8466,5887,2568,0013.65%4.08%4.25%4.38%4.87%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1842212292102140.14%0.15%0.15%0.13%0.13%Asian alone (NH)5191,5102,3924,2074,9230.40%1.05%1.54%2.54%3.00%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census465343xx0.03%0.03%0.03%Other race alone (NH)240711462907440.19%0.05%0.09%0.18%0.45%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,0422,6826,438xx1.32%1.62%3.92%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,7962,8814,6497,83411,9281.39%2.01%3.00%4.73%7.26%Total129,017143,196155,071165,676164,245 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 165,676 people, 67,202 households, and 43,743 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 74,837 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.2% white, 4.7% black or African American, 2.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.6% were Italian, 21.2% were Irish, 14.0% were English, 13.5% were German, 11.1% were Polish, and 3.4% were American.

Of the 67,202 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.9% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 43.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $74,906 and the median income for a family was $91,589. Males had a median income of $62,031 versus $50,031 for females. The per capita income for the county was $37,519. About 3.0% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 155,071 people, 61,341 households, and 40,607 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 67,285 housing units at an average density of . According to the Census of 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 89.22% White, 4.64% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.56% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 4.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.4% were of Italian, 14.3% Irish, 11.1% English, 8.9% Polish and 8.2% German ancestry. 91.1% spoke English, 2.6% Spanish, 1.9% Italian, 1.2% French and 1.0% Polish as their first language.

There were 61,341 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.40% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $59,175, and the median income for a family was $71,319. Males had a median income of $48,341 versus $35,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,251. About 2.30% of families and 4.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.00% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

Data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Rank Town Per capitaincome Medianhouseholdincome Medianfamilyincome Population Number ofhouseholds 1 Fenwick Borough $110,127 $114,375 $250,000+ 43 26 2 Essex Town $57,365 $87,480 $105,982 6,683 2,916 3 Killingworth Town $45,404 $99,500 $108,232 6,525 2,474 4 Old Saybrook Town $43,400 $79,985 $99,595 10,242 4,247 5 Cromwell Town $41,926 $82,012 $99,362 14,005 5,752 6 Chester Town $40,783 $80,185 $89,760 3,994 1,714 7 Durham Town $39,579 $105,417 $110,583 7,388 2,610 8 Portland Town $39,100 $86,661 $96,016 9,508 3,822 9 Westbrook Town $38,158 $61,069 $72,969 6,938 2,948 10 Haddam Town $37,324 $86,179 $100,343 8,346 3,218 11 East Haddam Town $37,156 $82,695 $86,023 9,126 3,593 12 Clinton Town $37,117 $74,174 $82,839 13,260 5,303 13 Middlefield Town $36,747 $80,392 $94,432 4,425 1,742 14 Deep River Town $35,564 $65,250 $81,641 4,629 1,940 15 East Hampton Town $34,555 $88,281 $95,854 12,959 5,060 16 Middletown City $31,348 $57,655 $78,006 47,648 19,863

Race Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, "Race alone or in combination with one or more other races." Rank Town Population White Black Asian AmericanIndian Other Hispanic 1 Middletown City 47,510 79.2% 15.7% 4.9% 0.6% 3.2% 8.1% 2 Cromwell Town 13,951 93.2% 3.9% 3.3% 0.3% 0.5% 4.2% 3 Clinton Town 13,291 95.8% 0.5% 2.1% 0.2% 1.8% 3.5% 4 East Hampton Town 12,926 95.4% 1.6% 1.7% 0.3% 1.9% 3.8% 5 Old Saybrook Town 10,307 97.8% 0.7% 1.8% 0.6% 0.0% 0.4% 6 Portland Town 9,470 96.2% 2.2% 1.0% 0.2% 1.9% 4.4% 7 East Haddam Town 9,069 99.3% 1.2% 0.0% 0.2% 0.7% 0.9% 8 Haddam Town 8,267 98.5% 1.5% 0.5% 1.5% 0.2% 2.6% 9 Durham Town 7,342 94.7% 0.5% 3.1% 0.2% 3.2% 5.3% 10 Westbrook Town 6,891 95.4% 0.5% 4.0% 1.2% 0.0% 4.5% 11 Essex Town 6,697 98.8% 0.6% 1.4% 0.1% 0.1% 0.6% 12 Killingworth Town 6,499 96.7% 0.0% 7.5% 1.4% 0.7% 3.0% 13 Deep River Town 4,652 88.7% 2.0% 0.3% 0.8% 7.5% 8.6% 14 Middlefield Town 4,418 94.3% 1.7% 4.2% 0.0% 0.7% 1.5% 15 Chester Town 3,984 98.3% 0.4% 1.7% 0.7% 0.0% 2.6% 16 Fenwick Borough 51 100.0% 5.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Communities

City Middletown

Towns Villages are named localities within towns, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

Chester Chester Center Clinton Clinton village Cromwell Deep River Deep River Center Winthrop Durham Durham village East Haddam Leesville Millington Moodus East Hampton Cobalt East Hampton village Lake Pocotopaug Middle Haddam Essex Centerbrook Essex Village Ivoryton Haddam Hidden Lake Higganum Killingworth Middlefield Rockfall Old Saybrook Fenwick Old Saybrook Center Saybrook Manor Portland Portland village Westbrook Westbrook Center

Politics Middlesex County was a Republican leaning county for most of its history, but since 1992 it has become reliably Democratic.

Middlesex County, Connecticut

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