New London is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 27,980 people and seven associated neighborhoods, New London is the 38th largest community in Connecticut. New London has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

New London is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around New London, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.03% 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.

Because there are quite a few people attending college in New London, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, New London provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities.

One of the nice things about New London is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

Many people in New London take advantage of public transportation to get around. In fact, for the size of the city, the number of people who use the bus to commute to work is quite high. This helps to fill a need among New London citizens for affordable transportation.

The overall education level of New London is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 26.78% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in New London in 2022 was $30,943, which is low income relative to Connecticut, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $123,772 for a family of four. However, New London contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

New London is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call New London home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of New London residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. New London also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 29.37% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in New London include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of New London's cultural character, accounting for 17.41% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in New London is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.