Darien is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 22,020 people and five associated neighborhoods, Darien is the 52nd largest community in Connecticut.

Darien home prices are not only among the most expensive in Connecticut, but Darien real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

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.

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.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 29.44% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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 educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

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

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

In Darien, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.94 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.

For the size of the town, public transportation in Darien is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the train. For Darien, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Darien. 85.12% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Darien in 2022 was $147,195, which is wealthy relative to Connecticut and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $588,780 for a family of four.

Darien is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Darien home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Darien residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Darien include Irish, English, German, Italian, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Darien is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.