Where is Connecticut?

Connecticut is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 41.3739° N, 72.9122° W.

What is the largest city in Connecticut?

Bridgeport is the largest city mapped in Connecticut, with a metropolitan population of about 1.02 million.

How many cities are in Connecticut?

YearMaps maps 6 cities and towns in Connecticut, with a combined metropolitan population of about 3.80 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

Connecticut Map — Cities & Geography, United States

Interactive Map of Connecticut

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About Connecticut

Connecticut ( kə-NET-ih-kət) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport. Connecticut lies between the major hubs of New York City and Boston along the Northeast Corridor, where the New York metropolitan area, which includes four of Connecticut's seven largest cities, extends into the southwestern part of the state. Connecticut is the third-smallest state by area after Rhode Island and Delaware, and the 29th-most populous with more than 3.6 million residents as of 2024, ranking it fourth among the most densely populated U.S. states.

The state is named after the Connecticut River, the longest in New England, which roughly bisects the state and drains into the Long Island Sound between the towns of Old Saybrook and Old Lyme. The name of the river is in turn derived from anglicized spellings of Quinnetuket, a Mohegan-Pequot word for "long tidal river". Before the arrival of the first European settlers, the region was inhabited by various Algonquian tribes. In 1633, the Dutch West India Company established a small, short-lived settlement called House of Hope in Hartford. Half of Connecticut was initially claimed by the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, although the first major settlements were established by the English around the same time. Thomas Hooker led a band of followers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to form the Connecticut Colony, while other settlers from Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony; both had merged into the first by 1664.

Connecticut's environmental history is shaped by Indigenous land stewardship, colonial displacement, industrial development, and modern environmental regulation.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Connecticut (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Connecticut in Depth

History

The name Connecticut is derived from the Mohegan-Pequot word that has been translated as "long tidal river" and "upon the long river", both referring to the Connecticut River. Evidence of human presence in the Connecticut region dates to as far back as 10,000 years ago. Stone tools were used for hunting, fishing, and woodworking. Semi-nomadic in lifestyle, these peoples moved seasonally to take advantage of various resources in the area. They shared languages based on Algonquian. The Connecticut region was inhabited by many Native American tribes that can be grouped into the Nipmuc, the Sequin or "River Indians" (which included the Tunxis, Schaghticoke, Podunk, Wangunk, Hammonasset, and Quinnipiac), the Mattabesec or "Wappinger Confederacy" and the Pequot-Mohegan.

Geography

Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state's capital and fourth-largest city is Hartford, and other major cities and towns (by population) include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich, and Bristol. There are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut, with cities and villages included within some towns.

The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state. The highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42°3′ N, 73°29′ W), on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts.

Economy

Connecticut's per capita personal income in 2025 was $98,879. There is a large disparity in incomes throughout the state; Connecticut was tied with California and Massachusetts for the second highest (after New York's 0.52) Gini coefficient, at 0.50, as of 2020. As of 2025, it remained tied for second with Louisiana, with only New York having higher levels of inequality. Despite its overall inequality, Connecticut has a relatively low poverty rate. According to a 2018 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Connecticut had the third-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 7.75%. New Canaan is the wealthiest town in Connecticut, with a per capita income of $105,846.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, Connecticut has a population of 3,605,944, an increase of 31,847 people (0.9%) from the 2010 United States census. Among the census records, 20.4% of the population was under 18.

In 1790, 97% of the population in Connecticut was classified as "rural". The first census in which less than half the population was classified as rural was 1890. In the 2000 census, only 12.3% was considered rural.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Connecticut (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Connecticut: Key Facts

Key facts about Connecticut
Population	3,605,944 (2020)
Area	14,357 km²
Capital	Hartford
Head of government	Ned Lamont
Highest point	Mount Frissell
Established	9 January 1788

Facts from Wikidata Q779 (CC0).

History of Connecticut: Empires and States

The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Connecticut, from New Netherland in 1626 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Connecticut, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
New Netherland	1626–1669 CE
Kingdom of England	1640–1708 CE
English Colonial Empire	1640–1712 CE
British Colonial Empire	1709–1774 CE
The British Empire	1709–1774 CE
United States of America	1776–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Connecticut

Connecticut on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Connecticut

Connecticut is a small New England state, full of charm, rural beauty and several major cities. The state's top tourist attractions include Yale University, which maintains numerous world-class museums, Mystic Seaport, the restaurant and nightlife scene in downtown New Haven, The Maritime Aquarium, and two major Native American casinos.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Connecticut (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Connecticut

6 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Connecticut
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Bridgeport	1.02 million	Connecticut	Populated place
2	Hartford	913,000	Connecticut	Admin-1 capital
3	New Haven	846,766	Connecticut	Populated place
4	Stamford	746,920	Connecticut	Populated place
5	Waterbury	174,236	Connecticut	Populated place
6	New London	96,178	Connecticut	Populated place

Ports in Connecticut

16 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Connecticut
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Noank	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
2	Greenport	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
3	Mystic	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
4	Essex	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
5	Southport	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
6	Norwalk	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	point_of_interest
7	Port Chester	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
8	Patchogue	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	large vessels
9	Greenwich	56.7 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels
10	Montauk Harbor	53 m	Very Small	Atlantic Coast of the United States	medium vessels

The other 6 (channel depth, class, sea, max vessel)

Stonington · 53 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · medium vessels
Norwich · 45.7 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · medium vessels
Port Jefferson · 45.7 m · Very Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels
Bridgeport · 42.1 m · Minor · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels
New Haven · 38.4 m · Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels
New London · 38.4 m · Small · Atlantic Coast of the United States · large vessels

Connecticut: Quick Answers

Where is Connecticut?: Connecticut is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 41.3739° N, 72.9122° W.
What is the largest city in Connecticut?: Bridgeport is the largest city mapped in Connecticut, with a metropolitan population of about 1.02 million.
How many cities are in Connecticut?: YearMaps maps 6 cities and towns in Connecticut, with a combined metropolitan population of about 3.80 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.