Two Connecticut Cities Named Best Up-and-Coming in the U.S.

Situations like this interest me.

Our country is made up of so many amazing cities. When someone asks me for a city I like the best, I link it to the tourism as well. Not necessarily a super touristy place, but somewhere that's worth the visit. So when I see Connecticut make a list like this, it makes my eyebrows raise.

I'm not sitting here and saying Connecticut isn't a good place to be. Personally, I like living here. Minus the cost and the traffic, I'm pretty content. Would I make a trip to come visit here as someone who lives in another state? Probably not.

I bring up this conversation because I came across an article on Real Estate Witch that came out with the top up-and-coming U.S. cities in 2025. What sat in the top 10 was not one, but two Connecticut cities. New Haven came in at number 5 overall and Hartford came in at number 10.

New Haven's blurb in the article talked about the convenience of the city saying, "Among all cities in the top 15, New Haven is the most walkable with a score of 68. It also has the seventh-highest overall bike score of 66." It also talked about how this city is overshadowed from New York and Boston, but has some quirks of its own. Personally, I can't compare a city like New York and Boston to New Haven. It's definitely a unique city in our state, but Boston and New York have way more leverage.

Hartford's blurb also spoke about the convenience of getting around saying, "Connecticut’s capital city features a highly walkable downtown area that makes it easy to explore the city’s attractions. In fact, Hartford has the fifth-highest walk score of 67, compared to 40 nationwide." It talks about how there's a lot to do and many things to see.

The article also highlights Bridgeport which landed at number 19. Here's an interesting blurb from the article - "Bridgeport, Connecticut has the highest median salary among the top 50 cities. The median household earns more than $111,000 annually — about 43% more than the studied-city average of $77,719." They also talked about that even though they have struggled economically, their recent developments have attracted new businesses and jobs.

It's always interesting to see lists like this. The other towns to make the top 10 includes Madison, Wisconsin at number 1, followed by Fargo, North Dakota, Lincoln, Nebraska, Provo, Utah, Omaha, Nebraska, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Fayetteville, Arkansas and Portland, Maine.

To see the full list, you can check it out here. Would you add Connecticut to the list of up-and-coming cities around the U.S? I'd love to hear your thoughts.