This article shows U.S. Census totals for New Haven County, Connecticut, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.
Like most areas of New England, New Haven County is (and has been at all times since well before the 20th century) entirely divided into incorporated municipalities. There is no unincorporated territory.
There are three types of municipalities in Connecticut: towns, boroughs and cities. As in the other New England states, towns are the basic unit of municipal government.
Boroughs overlay towns and assume responsibility for some municipal services within their boundaries. Boroughs are not found in any of the other New England states, and are not very common in Connecticut today, although they were somewhat more numerous in the past. A number of boroughs have disincorporated over the years, choosing to revert to full town control.
Cities also overlay towns. This is different from the other New England states, where cities are a different type of municipality equivalent to a town (this difference is related to cities having originally developed in Connecticut from the borough model). Most current cities are coextensive with their parent town, however, such that the entire municipality functions as a city. In practice, these cities are really no different from cities in the other New England states.
It is also possible for a city in Connecticut to overlay part, but not all, of a town. There are currently only one or two examples, but it was a more common arrangement in the past. Many of today’s coextensive cities were non-coextensive at one time. As with boroughs, a number of non-coextensive cities have also disincorporated over the years, choosing to revert to full town control.
The main tables below show municipalities at the town level. For any census, adding up the totals for each town should yield the county total. In cases where a community encompassed a coextensive city, the tables in the New England Historical U.S. Census Totals series mark the community as a city. In cases where a town included a non-coextensive city, the total shown below represents the entire town, including but not limited to the city. A separate section follows with population totals for boroughs and non-coextensive cities.
For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town.
1902 – Waterbury became a coextensive city (Note: before this time, there had been a city of Waterbury within, but not coextensive with, the town of Waterbury)
1921 – New town of West Haven formed from Orange
1922 – Meriden became a coextensive city (Note: before this time, there had been a city of Meriden within, but not coextensive with, the town of Meriden)
1957 – Milford became a coextensive city (Note: there was no predecessor city or borough of Milford within the town)
1961 – West Haven became a coextensive city (Note: there was no predecessor city or borough of West Haven within the town)
County Total: 269,163
New Haven (city) 108,027
Waterbury (*) 51,139
Meriden (*) 28,695
Ansonia (city) 12,681
Naugatuck 10,541
Wallingford 9,001
Derby (city) 7,930
Orange 6,995
Branford 5,706
Hamden 4,626
Milford 3,783
Seymour 3,541
Guilford 2,785
North Haven 2,164
Cheshire 1,989
East Haven 1,167
Madison 1,518
Southbury 1,238
Oxford 952
Woodbridge 852
North Branford 814
Middlebury 736
Beacon Falls 623
Wolcott 581
Prospect 562
Bethany 517
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
County Total: 337,282
New Haven (city) 133,605
Waterbury (city) 73,141
Meriden (*) 32,066
Ansonia (city) 15,152
Naugatuck 12,722
Orange 11,272
Wallingford 11,155
Derby (city) 8,991
Branford 6,047
Hamden 5,850
Seymour 4,786
Milford 4,366
Guilford 3,001
North Haven 2,254
Cheshire 1,988
East Haven 1,795
Madison 1,534
Southbury 1,233
Beacon Falls 1,160
Oxford 1,020
Woodbridge 878
Middlebury 836
North Branford 833
Wolcott 563
Prospect 539
Bethany 495
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
County Total: 415,214
New Haven (city) 162,537
Waterbury (city) 91,715
Meriden (*) 34,764
Ansonia (city) 17,643
Orange 16,614
Naugatuck 15,051
Wallingford 12,010
Derby (city) 11,238
Milford 10,193
Hamden 8,611
Seymour 6,781
Branford 6,627
East Haven 3,520
Cheshire 2,855
Guilford 2,803
North Haven 1,968
Madison 1,857
Beacon Falls 1.593
Woodbridge 1,170
North Branford 1,110
Southbury 1,093
Middlebury 1,067
Oxford 998
Wolcott 719
Bethany 411
Prospect 266
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
County Total: 463,449
New Haven (city) 162,655
Waterbury (city) 99,902
Meriden (city) 38,481
West Haven 25,808
Ansonia (city) 19,898
Hamden 19,020
Naugatuck 14,315
Wallingford 14,278
Milford 12,660
Derby (city) 10,788
East Haven 7,815
Branford 7,022
Seymour 6,890
North Haven 3,730
Cheshire 3,263
Guilford 3,117
Madison 1,918
Beacon Falls 1,693
Woodbridge 1,630
Orange 1,530
Middlebury 1,449
North Branford 1,329
Oxford 1,141
Southbury 1,134
Wolcott 972
Prospect 531
Bethany 480
County Total: 484,316
New Haven (city) 160,605
Waterbury (city) 99,314
Meriden (city) 39,494
West Haven 30,021
Hamden 23,373
Ansonia (city) 19,210
Milford 16,439
Naugatuck 15,388
Wallingford 14,788
Derby (city) 10,287
East Haven 9,094
Branford 8,060
Seymour 6,754
North Haven 5,326
Cheshire 4,352
Guilford 3,544
Woodbridge 2,262
Madison 2,245
Middlebury 2,173
Orange 2,009
Wolcott 1,765
Beacon Falls 1,756
Southbury 1,532
North Branford 1,438
Oxford 1,375
Prospect 1,006
Bethany 706
County Total: 545,784
New Haven (city) 164,443
Waterbury (city) 104,477
Meriden (city) 44,088
West Haven 32,010
Hamden 29,715
Milford 26,870
Ansonia (city) 18,706
Naugatuck 17,455
Wallingford 16,976
East Haven 12,212
Branford 10,944
Derby (city) 10,259
North Haven 9,444
Seymour 7,832
Cheshire 6,295
Guilford 5,092
Southbury 3,828
Wolcott 3,553
Middlebury 3,318
Madison 3,078
Orange 3,032
Woodbridge 2,822
Beacon Falls 2,067
Oxford 2,037
North Branford 2,017
Prospect 1,896
Bethany 1,318
County Total: 660,315
New Haven (city) 152,048
Waterbury (city) 107,130
Meriden (city) 51,850
West Haven 43,002
Milford (city) 41,662
Hamden 41,056
Wallingford 29,920
East Haven 21,388
Ansonia (city) 19,819
Naugatuck 19,511
Branford 16,610
North Haven 15,935
Cheshire 13,383
Derby (city) 12,132
Seymour 10,100
Wolcott 8,889
Orange 8,547
Guilford 7,913
North Branford 6,771
Southbury 5,186
Woodbridge 5,182
Middlebury 4,785
Madison 4,567
Prospect 4,367
Oxford 3,292
Beacon Falls 2,886
Bethany 2,384
County Total: 744,948
New Haven (city) 137,707
Waterbury (city) 108,033
Meriden (city) 55,959
West Haven (city) 52,851
Milford (city) 50,858
Hamden 49,357
Wallingford 35,714
East Haven 25,120
Naugatuck 23,034
North Haven 22,194
Ansonia (city) 21,160
Branford 20,444
Cheshire 19,051
Orange 13,524
Seymour 12,776
Derby (city) 12,599
Wolcott 12,495
Guilford 12,033
North Branford 10,778
Madison 9,768
Southbury 7,852
Woodbridge 7,673
Prospect 6,543
Middlebury 5,542
Oxford 4,480
Bethany 3,857
Beacon Falls 3,546
County Total: 761,325
New Haven (city) 126,089
Waterbury (city) 103,266
Meriden (city) 57,118
West Haven (city) 53,184
Hamden 51,071
Milford (city) 50,898
Wallingford 37,274
Naugatuck 26,456
East Haven 25,036
Branford 23,363
North Haven 22,080
Cheshire 21,788
Ansonia (city) 19,039
Guilford 17,375
Southbury 14,156
Madison 14,031
Seymour 13,434
Orange 13,237
Wolcott 13,008
Derby (city) 12,346
North Branford 11,554
Woodbridge 7,761
Prospect 6,807
Oxford 6,634
Middlebury 5,995
Bethany 4,330
Beacon Falls 3,995
County Total: 804,219
New Haven (city) 130,474
Waterbury (city) 108,961
Meriden (city) 59,479
West Haven (city) 54,021
Hamden 52,434
Milford (city) 49,938
Wallingford 40,822
Naugatuck 30,625
Branford 27,603
East Haven 26,144
Cheshire 25,684
North Haven 22,247
Guilford 19,848
Ansonia (city) 18,403
Southbury 15,818
Madison 15,485
Seymour 14,288
Wolcott 13,700
Orange 12,830
North Branford 12,996
Derby (city) 12,199
Oxford 8,685
Woodbridge 7,924
Prospect 7,775
Middlebury 6,145
Beacon Falls 5,083
Bethany 4,608
County Total: 824,008
New Haven (city) 123,776
Waterbury (city) 107,271
Meriden (city) 58,244
Hamden 56,763
West Haven (city) 52,360
Milford (city) 52,305
Wallingford 43,026
Naugatuck 30,989
Branford 28,683
Cheshire 28,543
East Haven 28,189
North Haven 23,035
Guilford 21,398
Southbury 18,567
Ansonia (city) 18,554
Madison 17,858
Seymour 15,454
Wolcott 15,215
North Branford 13,906
Orange 13,233
Derby (city) 12,391
Oxford 9,821
Woodbridge 8,983
Prospect 8,707
Middlebury 6,451
Beacon Falls 5,246
Bethany 5,040
Boroughs and Non-coextensive Cities
As of 1900, New Haven County contained five boroughs and two non-coextensive cities:
The borough of Branford, within the town of the same name
The borough of Guilford, within the town of the same name
The borough of Naugatuck, coextensive with the town of the same name
The borough of Wallingford, within the town of the same name
The borough of West Haven, within the town of Orange
The city of Meriden, within the town of the same name
The city of Waterbury, within the town of the same name
In addition to the above, there were three more cities in the county which had already been made coextensive with their parent town (New Haven, Ansonia and Derby). In 1902, Waterbury, which at the time was by far the largest non-coextensive city in the state, finally became coextensive with its parent town.
The borough and town of Naugatuck have been coextensive since at or shortly after the borough's incorporation. Naugutuck is the only borough in Connecticut which has ever been coextensive with its parent town. A sixth borough, Woodmont (within the town of Milford), was incorporated in 1903. The following changes have occurred since then:
1911 – The borough of West Haven disincorporated
1922 – The city of Meriden became coextensive with its parent town
1941 – The borough of Guilford disincorporated
1958 – The borough of Wallingford disincorporated
The borough of Branford disincorporated sometime between 1970 and 1980
The 1910 and 1920 Census reports make reference to a borough called Fair Haven East, which is stated to be within the city of New Haven in 1910, and within the city of New Haven and town of East Haven in 1920. Its population was not tabulated in either census, apparently because boroughs and cities both fall within the same census category (incorporated places), and Census methodology of the time would not allow one to be within another. Fair Haven East is not mentioned in the 1900 or 1930 reports, and no details are provided on how or when it was created or ceased to exist.
1900
Waterbury (city) 45,859
Meriden (city) 24,296
Naugatuck (borough) 10,541
Wallingford (borough) 6,737
West Haven (borough) 5,247
Branford (borough) 2,473
Guilford (borough) 1,512
1910
Meriden (city) 27,265
Naugatuck (borough) 12,722
Wallingford (borough) 8,690
West Haven (borough) 8,543
Branford (borough) 2,560
Guilford (borough) 1,608
Woodmont (borough) 194
1920
Meriden (city) 29,867
Naugatuck (borough) 15,051
Wallingford (borough) 9,648
Branford (borough) 2,619
Guilford (borough) 1,612
Woodmont (borough) 220
1930
Naugatuck (borough) 14,315
Wallingford (borough) 11,170
Branford (borough) 2,365
Guilford (borough) 1,880
Woodmont (borough) 531
1940
Naugatuck (borough) 15,388
Wallingford (borough) 11,425
Branford (borough) 2,235
Guilford (borough) 1,986
Woodmont (borough) 748
1950
Naugatuck (borough) 17,455
Wallingford (borough) 11,994
Branford (borough) 2,552
Woodmont (borough) not reported
1960
Naugatuck (borough) 19,511
Branford (borough) 2,371
Woodmont (borough) not reported
1970
Naugatuck (borough) 23,034
Woodmont (borough) 2,114
Branford (borough) 2,080
1980
Naugatuck (borough) 26,456
Woodmont (borough) 1,797
1990
Naugatuck (borough) 30,625
Woodmont (borough) 1,770
2000
Naugatuck (borough) 30,989
Woodmont (borough) 1,711
Note: The population of the borough of Woodmont was not reported separately from the town of Milford in the 1950 and 1960 Censuses. It is not clear why.