Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Below the state median: Median household income runs $9,590 (10.0%) under the Connecticut median, so statewide income averages overstate local household buying power.
• Cost of living erodes income: Local prices run 3.6% above the national average, so the nominal median of $86,191 is worth $83,196 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at state level, not county level.
• Aging population: Median age of 42 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 32,702 workers (27% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $58,696. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 20,231 and is counted separately.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $33.4B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $115,731 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,302, a 4.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Internet Publishing and Broadcasting concentrates at 8.89x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
• Cluster depth: 12 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.5% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed and clear the local siting screen on energy cost, freight access and land base, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.7x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• Rent affordability gap: None of the 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $45,215 can pay without cost burden (~$1,130/mo), and 49.2% of renter households are already cost-burdened, 26.2% severely so; workforce housing cost burden warrants attention.

• Succession risk is real: 23.6% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Healthy participation: 65.1% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
• Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 7 institutions in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region award 3,577 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Naugatuck Valley Planning Region shows strong potential for internet publishing and broadcasting attraction, with a 8.89x concentration and 3,218 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.6% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans internet publishing and broadcasting, fabricated metal product manufacturing, and electrical equipment, appliance manufacturing, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.5% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.