Connecticut

Though the third-smallest state geographically, Connecticut ranks 29th in population (3.5 million). A total of 23 percent of the population is less than 18 years old. An affluent state, Connecticut ranks third in U.S. income (median $67,000). Median home values are $279,000. Almost 90 percent of state residents earned a high school diploma and nearly 35 percent possessed a bachelor's degree or more. Over 9 percent of the state population lives below the federal poverty line, and unemployment was 8.4 percent as of November 2011. Connecticut has had the worst jobs rate in the United States for the last 20 years, with stagnant job creation and continued loss of high-skilled positions and simultaneous increase in low-skilled and low-wage positions. The loss of skilled labor positions ...