Why look at West Haven?
- Moderately priced housing. Median home is $362k.
- Rising market. Home values up +6.5% year-over-year — momentum is positive.
- Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 7.0% — factor into salary comparisons.
Where West Haven stands
At or near all-time high. home values up 6.5% in the last year. averaging 8.6% annual growth over 5 years. rents up 5.2% in the last year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 15.1 price-to-rent ratio, West Haven is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About West Haven (Wikipedia)
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for New Haven County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. New Haven County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Run the numbers for West Haven
Connecticut context
Schools
West Haven is served by 10 public schools enrolling about 6,258 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 12.1:1 — smaller classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current West Haven listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in West Haven
2 from local press- West Haven beach gets poor water-quality grade while one right next to it earns A+LOCALNew Haven Register1w ago
- NY couple staged $70K West Haven armed robbery for insurance money, police sayLOCALNew Haven Register5d ago
- West Haven Memorial Day Parade start time moved to 1 p.m. MondayWTNH.com3d ago
- Five arrested after fights at West Haven High School prompt shelter-in-placeNBC Connecticut22h ago
- More than 2,400 lose power in West Haven after transformer fireWFSB3d ago
- House fire under investigation on Church Street in West HavenWTNH.com1w ago
What locals are saying
- r/WestHavenCT Lounge r/westhavenct
- A damn small subreddit, but, there's a 50/50 shot that /r/NewHaven will allow this, r/westhavenct
- Which stop signs aren't optional? r/westhavenct
- Tips & Tricks & Info for Mr. Bubbles r/westhavenct
- The Shoreline Sopranos: 43k views later, the "First Lady" story goes statewide r/westhavenct
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for West Haven-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the New Haven-Milford area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like West Haven
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match West Haven’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like West Haven →Cities similar to West Haven
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Connecticut: 182 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In West Haven, unemployment runs higher at 7.3%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are hospitality & tourism, healthcare and skilled trades & manufacturing.
Search current openings: