East Lyme is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 18,118 people and two constituent neighborhoods, East Lyme is the 60th largest community in Connecticut.

Unlike some towns, East Lyme isn't mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in East Lyme are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, East Lyme is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in East Lyme who work in office and administrative support jobs (13.23%), management occupations (9.28%), and sales jobs (8.84%).

Also of interest is that East Lyme has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

In addition, East Lyme is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates," which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

Because of many things, East Lyme 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, East Lyme really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is East Lyme perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic night life, 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.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of East Lyme are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

East Lyme is a very car-oriented town. This is because most people - 98.4% - drive by car to work every day, and few people choose alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit, cycling, or walking. In general, car-oriented communities have a layout that emphasizes streets, highways, and ease of parking, and sometimes this can be to the detriment of human-scale priorities such as walkability alongside roads, and public spaces. For example, strip malls are something you will find in East Lyme.

East Lyme is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

East Lyme Information and Demographics

The population of East Lyme is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.45% of adults in East Lyme have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in East Lyme in 2000 was $28,765, which is middle income relative to Connecticut, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $115,060 for a family of four.

East Lyme is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call East Lyme home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in East Lyme is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in East Lyme include Irish, Italian, English, German, Polish, French, and French Canadian.

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