Darien is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 21,926 people and five associated neighborhoods, Darien is the 52nd largest community in Connecticut. Darien home prices are not only among the most expensive in Connecticut, but Darien real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Darien is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 96.09% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Darien is a town of managers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Darien who work in management occupations (26.19%), sales jobs (18.72%), and business and financial occupations (15.12%). Also of interest is that Darien has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Of important note, Darien is also a town of artists. Darien has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Darien’s character. A relatively large number of people in Darien telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 29.44% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Darien is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums. Because of many things, Darien is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Darien really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Darien perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. Darien is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. One downside of living in Darien, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 33.94 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead. Like elsewhere in America, most people in Darien use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Darien‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the train. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.If knowledge is power, Darien is a pretty powerful place. 85.12% of the adults in Darien have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Darien in 2022 was $147,195, which is wealthy relative to Connecticut and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $588,780 for a family of four. Darien is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Darien home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Darien residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Darien include Irish, English, German, Italian, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Darien is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
