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The change in median age in Connecticut towns varied widely in the last five years.

The median age in Connecticut was 40.9 in 2022, making it the seventh-oldest state in the country, according to Census Bureau estimates released this year.

Maine topped the list with a median age of 44.8, while Utah was youngest at 31.4. Connecticut’s median age barely rose from estimates years ago, following national trends.

And towns in the state vary too. The oldest town is Sherman, with a median age of 58.2, and the youngest is Mansfield at 21.1, followed by New Haven and Hartford, which are in their early 30s.

The estimates are derived from the American Community Survey’s 5-year estimates, which cover data from 2018 to 2022. When comparing this year’s estimates to the 5-year estimates released in 2017, the data shows that some towns’ median age dropped or increased by several years.

The fastest aging among them: Griswold. In the last estimates, released years ago, Griswold had a median age of 37.6. In this year’s estimates, it rose to 50.

Four other towns got older by at least six more years, including Sherman, Colebrook, Old Saybrook and Beacon Falls.

The town with the biggest decrease was Washington, which went from a median age of 55.5 to 43.3 in 2022. Seven other towns had a drop of at least six years in their median age.

José is CT Mirror's data reporter, reporting data-driven stories and integrating data visualizations into his colleagues' stories. Prior to joining CT Mirror he spent the summer of 2022 at the Wall Street Journal as an investigative data intern. Prior to that, José held internships or fellowships with Texas Tribune, American Public Media Group, ProPublica, Bloomberg and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. A native of Houston, he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism.