Darien is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 19,607 people and five constituent neighborhoods, Darien is the 51st largest community in Connecticut.

Darien is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 95.37% 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 (25.27%), sales jobs (20.58%), and business and financial occupations (11.77%).

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.

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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.27% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness.' But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Darien is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Darien's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Darien are somewhat historic and bounded by the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

One downside of living in Darien is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Darien, the average commute to work is 36.41 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

Darien Information and Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Darien. 70.45% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 14.96%.

The per capita income in Darien in 2000 was $77,519, which is wealthy relative to Connecticut and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $310,076 for a family of four. However, Darien contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Darien home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Darien is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Darien include Irish, English, Italian, German, Scottish, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Darien is English. Some people also speak Spanish.