This is the wealthy edge of Connecticut, close enough to New York that much of it runs on the Metro-North commute. Greenwich and Stamford hold a heavy share of the country's hedge fund money.
The shoreline towns along Long Island Sound, places like Westport, Darien, and New Canaan, carry some of the most expensive addresses in the Northeast.
It isn't all money, though. Bridgeport, the largest city in the state, sits in the same county and tells a very different economic story. That gap, wealthy shoreline towns beside a struggling city, sums the place up.
For visitors there's the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and the Beardsley Zoo, plus easy beaches on the Sound.
About 40% of Connecticut homes heat with oil, according to a 2020 U.S. Energy Information Administration survey. That's one of the highest rates in the country, so it pays to compare suppliers.