Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Connecticut (2026)

Connecticut shows a 1.9-point spread in gross asking rental yield, from 6.4 percent in Bethel to 8.3 percent in Branford. Read the ratio as a screen and weigh it with purchase price, expenses and demand before ranking any of these markets against another. Second is New Milford: 8.3 percent gross, $315,000 to buy, $2,185 a month to rent. Volume and yield part ways: Bridgeport closes about 122 homes a month, more than any other city here, and ranks eighteenth on yield at 6.5 percent. Eleven cities on this list carry a confirmed-close median as well as an asking median. Bridgeport has the largest close sample, 304, with a median of $2,038, 3 percent below the $2,100 asking median; the samples are separate, so this is not evidence that the same homes leased above or below their advertised rent. Measured against the whole state, these are cheap markets: a median of $370,750 here against $445,000 statewide. The table shows the 20 highest-yielding markets among 52 Connecticut cities meeting the coverage requirements; the yield range above describes the markets shown.

The ranking

Gross yield here is an asking rental yield screen: twelve times the median asking rent over the median closed price, before taxes, insurance, vacancy, management or repairs. Sales use municipal boundaries. Rental listings use the associated city name and may cover a wider postal area. The ratio therefore compares related, but not perfectly matched, market samples, and a home bought at the median price does not necessarily earn the median rent. Confirmed-close medians appear where at least 30 confirmed lease closes were recorded in the window.

City by city

1. Branford, 8.3 percent gross

Branford is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 73 closes with a median of $2,600 beside a $2,500 asking median, a 4 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $360,000 median closed price across 341 closings, $2,500 median asking rent across 464 listings, 8.3 percent gross. The Branford market page carries the monthly figures.

2. New Milford, 8.3 percent gross

New Milford also carries a confirmed-close median: 43 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,000, 8 percent below the $2,185 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. Homes in New Milford closed at a median of $315,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,185, a gross yield of 8.3 percent. Full detail is on the New Milford market page.

3. Southbury, 7.9 percent gross

Rent is what puts Southbury third here; on price alone it would sit twelfth of 20. Homes in Southbury closed at a median of $381,900 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,500, a gross yield of 7.9 percent. Houses there closed at about $235 per square foot. See the Southbury page for the property mix and the price band.

4. Hamden, 7.6 percent gross

Hamden also carries a confirmed-close median: 50 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,200, 4 percent below the $2,300 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. Homes in Hamden closed at a median of $364,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,300, a gross yield of 7.6 percent. Full detail is on the Hamden market page.

5. Norwich, 7.6 percent gross

Norwich is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 31 closes with a median of $1,500 beside a $1,800 asking median, a 17 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. At $285,000 to buy and $1,800 a month to rent, Norwich yields 7.6 percent gross on 453 tracked closings. Full detail is on the Norwich market page.

6. Newington, 7.5 percent gross

Homes in Newington went under contract in a median of 7 days, so a buyer chasing its 7.5 percent yield needs financing ready before the search. Homes in Newington closed at a median of $351,750 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,200, a gross yield of 7.5 percent. Full detail is on the Newington market page.

7. Groton, 7.4 percent gross

Groton's confirmed-close median, $2,200 on 79 closes, sits close to its $2,245 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. The numbers: $365,000 median closed price across 147 closings, $2,245 median asking rent across 408 listings, 7.4 percent gross. Full detail is on the Groton market page.

8. North Haven, 7.1 percent gross

Rent is what puts North Haven eighth here; on price alone it would sit seventeenth of 20. The numbers: $475,000 median closed price across 205 closings, $2,825 median asking rent across 145 listings, 7.1 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $273 per square foot. The North Haven market page carries the monthly figures.

9. Manchester, 7.0 percent gross

Manchester also carries a confirmed-close median: 43 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,000, 8 percent above the $1,850 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $315,000 median closed price across 262 closings, $1,850 median asking rent across 527 listings, 7.0 percent gross. See the Manchester page for the property mix and the price band.

10. Naugatuck, 7.0 percent gross

In Naugatuck the two samples agree: 37 confirmed lease closes have a median of $1,900, within a few percent of the $1,900 asking median, though the samples are separate rather than paired. The numbers: $325,000 median closed price across 303 closings, $1,900 median asking rent across 314 listings, 7.0 percent gross. Full detail is on the Naugatuck market page.

11. Trumbull, 6.9 percent gross

Rent is what puts Trumbull eleventh here; on price alone it would sit twentieth of 20. At $663,000 to buy and $3,800 a month to rent, Trumbull yields 6.9 percent gross on 259 tracked closings. Houses there closed at about $314 per square foot. See the Trumbull page for the property mix and the price band.

12. East Haven, 6.9 percent gross

The numbers: $376,500 median closed price across 232 closings, $2,150 median asking rent across 257 listings, 6.9 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $266 per square foot. The East Haven market page carries the monthly figures.

13. South Windsor, 6.8 percent gross

Homes in South Windsor went under contract in a median of 7 days, so a buyer chasing its 6.8 percent yield needs financing ready before the search. At $425,000 to buy and $2,398 a month to rent, South Windsor yields 6.8 percent gross on 300 tracked closings. See the South Windsor page for the property mix and the price band.

14. Wethersfield, 6.8 percent gross

Only 91 rental listings sit behind Wethersfield's $2,368 median; the yield is real but less settled than in cities with hundreds. The numbers: $420,000 median closed price across 223 closings, $2,368 median asking rent across 91 listings, 6.8 percent gross. The Wethersfield market page carries the monthly figures.

15. Enfield, 6.6 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Enfield far: it is sixth cheapest on this list and fifteenth on yield, with rent of $1,890 against a $341,100 median price. Homes in Enfield closed at a median of $341,100 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $1,890, a gross yield of 6.6 percent. Houses there closed at about $219 per square foot. See the Enfield page for the property mix and the price band.

16. Milford, 6.5 percent gross

Milford also carries a confirmed-close median: 104 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,500, 7 percent below the $2,700 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $495,110 median closed price across 553 closings, $2,700 median asking rent across 713 listings, 6.5 percent gross. The Milford market page carries the monthly figures.

17. Windsor, 6.5 percent gross

Windsor is cheaper than its yield rank suggests: thirteenth on price, seventeenth on yield, because a $383,462 home there rents for only $2,070. Homes in Windsor closed at a median of $383,462 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,070, a gross yield of 6.5 percent. Houses there closed at about $221 per square foot. Full detail is on the Windsor market page.

18. Bridgeport, 6.5 percent gross

In Bridgeport the two samples agree: 304 confirmed lease closes have a median of $2,038, within a few percent of the $2,100 asking median, though the samples are separate rather than paired. Homes in Bridgeport closed at a median of $390,000 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,100, a gross yield of 6.5 percent. The Bridgeport market page carries the monthly figures.

19. Meriden, 6.4 percent gross

Meriden is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 38 closes with a median of $1,650 beside a $1,750 asking median, a 6 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. Homes in Meriden closed at a median of $327,250 over the last six months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $1,750, a gross yield of 6.4 percent. See the Meriden page for the property mix and the price band.

20. Bethel, 6.4 percent gross

Bethel's confirmed-close median, $2,690 on 40 closes, sits close to its $2,650 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. Homes in Bethel closed at a median of $496,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,650, a gross yield of 6.4 percent. See the Bethel page for the property mix and the price band.

How this ranking is built

• •Cities: every Connecticut city where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the municipal boundary in its reporting window (six or twelve months) and at least 50 rental listings under the city's name since September 10, 2025: 52 cities qualify and the table shows the 20 highest-yielding.
• •Prices: the median price homes closed at inside the city limits, from Resideline's tracked closings; the state comparison uses the statewide median of $445,000 across 30,737 closings.
• •Rents: the median advertised rent on rental listings Resideline tracked in the last twelve months, all property types, measured on the listings that carry the city's name (a postal footprint, wider than the city line in some places).
• •Confirmed-close medians: Observed rent blends two kinds of record: confirmed lease closes extracted from property records, and the final asking rent on listings that left Resideline tracking without a recorded close. Where a city has at least 30 confirmed closes in the window, their median is printed beside the asking figure; in the last twelve months about a quarter of Resideline's close episodes are confirmed closes. The asking and confirmed-close samples are separate, not paired, so a difference between their medians is not a measured gap on the same listings.
• •What is missing: taxes, insurance, vacancy, management and repairs, which turn a gross yield into a net one, and the unit mix, which differs between what sells and what rents.

Sources and related pages

• •Resideline tracked closings inside city limits (window per city, updated September 10, 2026) and rental listings since September 10, 2025; confirmed lease closes extracted from property records.
• •More Connecticut rankings: Cheapest cities to buy a house in Connecticut ranks the same kind of list with each city's price per square foot for houses, realized appreciation and days to contract beside the median, and Cap Rate by City ranks the Connecticut cities Resideline tracks by gross rental yield. The Connecticut housing market hub carries the statewide figures and the largest Connecticut markets by closings.
• •Asking rent vs observed rent compares live asking rents with final asking rents under that study's own definition; it says nothing about confirmed lease closes.

Prepared with Resideline's research pipeline and reviewed by Jeffrey Batista, Resideline's founder.