Historical United States Census totals for Middlesex County, Connecticut
This article shows U.S. Census totals for Middlesex County, Connecticut, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.
Like most areas of New England, Middlesex 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.
Contents
Corporate changes since 1900
- 1915 – Chatham changed its name to East Hampton
- 1923 – Middletown became a coextensive city (Note: before this time, there had long been a city of Middletown within, but not coextensive with, the town of Middletown)
- 1947 – Saybrook changed its name to Deep River
1900
County Total: 41,760
- Middletown (*) 17,486
- Portland 3,856
- Essex 2,530
- East Haddam 2,485
- Chatham 2,271
- Cromwell 2,031
- Haddam 2,015
- Saybrook 1,634
- Old Saybrook 1,431
- Clinton 1,429
- Chester 1,328
- Durham 884
- Westbrook 884
- Middlefield 845
- Killingworth 651
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
1910
County Total: 45,637
- Middletown (*) 20,749
- Portland 3,425
- Essex 2,745
- East Haddam 2,422
- Chatham 2,390
- Cromwell 2,188
- Haddam 1,958
- Saybrook 1,907
- Old Saybrook 1,516
- Chester 1,419
- Clinton 1,274
- Middlefield 1,036
- Durham 997
- Westbrook 951
- Killingworth 660
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
1920
County Total: 47,550
- Middletown (*) 22,129
- Portland 3,644
- Essex 2,815
- Cromwell 2,454
- East Hampton 2,394
- Saybrook 2,325
- East Haddam 2,312
- Haddam 1,736
- Chester 1,675
- Old Saybrook 1,463
- Clinton 1,217
- Middlefield 1,047
- Durham 959
- Westbrook 849
- Killingworth 531
(*) not a city in its entirety, but includes a non-coextensive city that encompasses a significant percentage of the town's overall population.
1930
County Total: 51,388
- Middletown (city) 24,554
- Portland 3,930
- Cromwell 2,814
- Essex 2,777
- East Hampton 2,616
- Saybrook 2,381
- East Haddam 2,114
- Haddam 1,755
- Old Saybrook 1,643
- Chester 1,463
- Clinton 1,574
- Middlefield 1,204
- Durham 1,044
- Westbrook 1,037
- Killingworth 482
1940
County Total: 55,999
- Middletown (city) 26,495
- Portland 4,321
- Cromwell 3,281
- East Hampton 2,955
- Essex 2,859
- Saybrook 2,332
- East Haddam 2,217
- Haddam 2,069
- Old Saybrook 1,985
- Clinton 1,791
- Chester 1,676
- Middlefield 1,230
- Westbrook 1,159
- Durham 1,098
- Killingworth 531
1950
County Total: 67,332
- Middletown (city) 29,711
- Portland 5,186
- Cromwell 4,286
- East Hampton 4,000
- Essex 3,491
- Haddam 2,636
- Deep River 2,570
- East Haddam 2,554
- Old Saybrook 2,499
- Clinton 2,466
- Middlefield 1,983
- Chester 1,920
- Durham 1,804
- Westbrook 1,549
- Killingworth 677
1960
County Total: 88,865
- Middletown (city) 33,250
- Portland 7,496
- Cromwell 6,780
- East Hampton 5,403
- Old Saybrook 5,274
- Clinton 4,166
- Essex 4,057
- East Haddam 3,637
- Haddam 3,466
- Middlefield 3,255
- Durham 3,096
- Deep River 2,968
- Chester 2,520
- Westbrook 2,399
- Killingworth 1,098
1970
County Total: 115,018
- Middletown (city) 36,924
- Clinton 10,267
- Portland 8,812
- Old Saybrook 8,468
- Cromwell 7,400
- East Hampton 7,078
- Haddam 4,934
- Essex 4,911
- East Haddam 4,676
- Durham 4,489
- Middlefield 4,132
- Westbrook 3,820
- Deep River 3,690
- Chester 2,982
- Killingworth 2,435
1980
County Total: 129,017
- Middletown (city) 39,040
- Clinton 11,195
- Cromwell 10,265
- Old Saybrook 9,287
- East Hampton 8,572
- Portland 8,383
- Haddam 6,383
- East Haddam 5,621
- Westbrook 5,216
- Durham 5,143
- Essex 5,078
- Deep River 3,994
- Killingworth 3,976
- Middlefield 3,796
- Chester 3,068
1990
County Total: 143,196
- Middletown (city) 42,762
- Clinton 12,767
- Cromwell 12,286
- East Hampton 10,428
- Old Saybrook 9,552
- Portland 8,418
- Haddam 6,769
- East Haddam 6,676
- Essex 5,904
- Durham 5,732
- Westbrook 5,414
- Killingworth 4,814
- Deep River 4,332
- Middlefield 3,925
- Chester 3,417
2000
County Total: 155,071
- Middletown (city) 45,563
- Clinton 13,094
- Cromwell 12,871
- East Hampton 10,956
- Old Saybrook 10,367
- Portland 8,732
- East Haddam 8,333
- Haddam 7,157
- Durham 6,627
- Essex 6,505
- Westbrook 6,292
- Killingworth 6,018
- Deep River 4,610
- Middlefield 4,203
- Chester 3,743
Boroughs and Non-coextensive Cities
As of 1900, Middlesex County contained one borough and one non-coextensive city:
- The borough of Fenwick, within of the town of Old Saybrook
- The city of Middletown, within the town of the same name
The city of Middletown became coextensive with its parent town in 1923.
1900
- Middletown (city) 9,589
- Fenwick (borough) 23
1910
- Middletown (city) 11,851
- Fenwick (borough) 34
1920
- Middletown (city) 13,638
- Fenwick (borough) 13
1930
- Fenwick (borough) 6
1940
- Fenwick (borough) 0
1950
- Fenwick (borough) 16
1960
- Fenwick (borough) 36
1970
- Fenwick (borough) 45
1980
- Fenwick (borough) 41
1990
- Fenwick (borough) 89
2000
- Fenwick (borough) 52
Notes
1970 Census
The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1970 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 1970 total for Middlesex County was originally reported as 114,816; and for the town of East Hampton, 4,474. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above.
2000 Census
The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 2000 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 2000 total for the city of Middletown was originally reported as 43,167; and for the town of East Hampton, 13,352. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above. This was apparently done to correct assignment errors between these municipalities; the collective population of the two is the same using either set of figures, so the county total was not affected.
