Granby and East Granby Not Bad Places to Grow Up

Based on a recently released study, Tolland County is the best place in the state for children to grow up and that Hartford County is also above average, reports the Hartford Courant.

Two Harvard economics professors ran the “Equality of Opportunity” project, where they looked at counties across the nation and concluded that the neighborhood where a child grows up has a great effect on his or her well-being later in life.

The study found that crime, income and race segregation, income inequality, education, and two-parent households had the greatest effect on how well a child does later in life.

It does not reach a town level, but looks at results at the county level. One of the reasons Tolland County scored so well is because it lacks large cities.

The study says that by the time a lower-income resident of Tolland County reaches age 26, they’ll be earning about $3,757 more per year than someone who grew up in similar circumstances in a county with average incomes.

The researchers found that Hartford County children generally do well. A child in a lower-income family will earn $678 more annually at age 26 than he or she would in an average county.

In Windham County, the difference is $1,226 and in New London County, it is $1,070. The difference in Middlesex County is $1,487.

Children in Litchfield, Fairfield, and New Haven counties will earn less at age 26, on average.

In Fairfield County, for example, lower-income children will earn $2,166 less than in an average county. In New Haven County, it is $2,192 less, and in Litchfield County it is $417 less.

However, because the counties can be so diverse, and towns right next to each other can be so different, these results don’t necessarily hold true for every town in every county.

For more and to check out the study, visit Courant.com.

Photo from Jason Taylor via Flickr Creative Commons.