Greater Hartford

Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater Boston region to the northeast and New York metropolitan area to the south and west.[1] Sitting at the southern end of the Metacomet Ridge, its geology is characterized by land of a level grade along the shores of Connecticut River Valley, with loamy, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford (the metropolitan area as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), had a total population of 1,213,531 at the 2020 United States census.

For the planning region and council of governments, see Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut.
Greater Hartford
Hartford-West Hartford, CT CSA
Metropolitan region
Top to bottom: Skylines of Hartford, New Britain, and West Hartford
Country United States
State(s)
Principal cities


Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,482,086 (CSA)
 • RankRanked 41st in the US for Combined Statistical Areas
Time zoneEST
Area code(s)860, 959

Hartford's role as a focal point for the American insurance industry is known nationally. The metropolitan area's affluence and its vibrant music and arts scene define the region's culture. The region's economy is closely tied with Springfield, Massachusetts, with both cities being served by Bradley International Airport and with their shared presence within the Knowledge Corridor, being only 25 miles apart. The area is also served by the smaller Hartford-Brainard Airport.

Definitions

New England City and Town Area

New England City and Town Areas (NECTA) are cluster of cities and towns throughout all of New England defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metropolitan NECTA consists of 54 towns, including 25 in Hartford County, 5 in Litchfield County, 6 in Middlesex County, 2 in New London County, 12 in Tolland County, and 4 in Windham County.

Metropolitan Statistical Area
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1900195,480—
1910250,18228.0%
1920336,02734.3%
1930421,09725.3%
1940450,1896.9%
1950539,66119.9%
1960847,15757.0%
19701,034,99322.2%
19801,051,6061.6%
19901,123,6786.9%
20001,148,6182.2%
20101,212,3815.6%
20201,213,5310.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[2][3]

The United States Census Bureau also defines the Hartford–East Hartford–Middletown, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) based on towns as building blocks. The area contains 54 towns of Hartford County, Tolland County, and Middlesex County.[4] The 2015 population estimate for the MSA is 1,211,324,[5] and is ranked as the 47th-largest metropolitan area by population in the United States. The MSA definition of the area contains a significant portion of the Lower Connecticut River Valley, which is not commonly considered as part of Greater Hartford.

A region very similar to the MSA is covered by the combination of the Hartford Service Delivery Area and the Mid-Connecticut Service Delivery Area, covering 56 towns.[6]

County 2021 Estimate 2020 Census Change Area Density
Hartford County 896,854 899,498 −0.29% 734.93 sq mi (1,903.5 km2) 1,220/sq mi (471/km2)
Middlesex County 164,759 164,245 +0.31% 369.30 sq mi (956.5 km2) 446/sq mi (172/km2)
Tolland County 150,293 149,788 +0.34% 410.35 sq mi (1,062.8 km2) 366/sq mi (141/km2)
Total 1,211,906 1,213,531 −0.13% 1,514.58 sq mi (3,922.7 km2) 800/sq mi (309/km2)

Municipalities with 100,000 or more inhabitants

Municipalities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

Municipalities with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

Municipalities with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

Municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants

^1 Town also included in the Springfield, Massachusetts NECTA

Economy

Notable companies based in Hartford city proper
The Aetna headquarters in Hartford
The iconic "boat building" in downtown Hartford is home to The Phoenix Companies

Notable companies based in surrounding towns

^2 Division of United Technologies (Otis and Carrier are under the UTC Building & Industrial Systems division)

Higher education

Public colleges and universities

Public, four-year universities in the area include:.[29][30]

Aerial view of the UConn's main campus

Community and technical colleges

Public, two-year community colleges in the area include:[29]

Private colleges and universities

Private, nonprofit, four-year universities in the area include:[31]

Trinity College Chapel

Healthcare

There are numerous hospitals in the Greater Hartford area, including five teaching hospitals (of which, one is a pediatric hospital) and two psychiatric hospitals.

Teaching hospitals
Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center

All of the above hospitals are affiliated with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine[32]

Psychiatric hospitals

Culture and attractions

Performing arts
The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts at night

The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is one of the largest indoor performing arts venues in the area. It houses two theaters within the complex: the 2,800-seat Mortensen Hall and the 906-seat Belding Theater, and is home to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the premiere orchestra in Connecticut. Other theaters in the area include the Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks.

The area is also home to the Xfinity Theatre, a 7,500-seat open-air amphitheater. The lawn outside the theater is capable of holding roughly 22,500 people, bringing total capacity to around 30,000 people.

Conventions and exhibitions

The Connecticut Convention Center is located in downtown Hartford adjacent to the Hartford Marriot Downtown. The facility has more than 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) of exhibition space, a 40,000-square-foot (4,000 m2) ballroom, and 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of space for meetings and conferences. Since 2005, it has hosted ConnectiCon, an annual, multi-genre, pop culture convention.[33]

The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks also hosts many events, with three large hangars available for use. One of the more popular events held there is FlightSimCon.

In addition, AOPA has held their annual aviation summit in Hartford.[34]

Notable museums
The Connecticut Science Center
Front facade of the Old State House
Wadsworth Atheneum in the wintertime

Sports

Greater Hartford is home to multiple minor league professional sports teams and college teams. There are currently no major league professional sports teams. However, it was home to the Hartford Whalers ice hockey team from 1974 to 1997. The Whalers came to Hartford playing in the World Hockey Association, until they were admitted to the National Hockey League in 1979. In 1997, the team relocated to North Carolina, where they were renamed the Carolina Hurricanes.

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field

Throughout the mid-1990s, the New England Patriots were negotiating with the state of Connecticut for a brand new football stadium located in downtown Hartford to replace the aging Foxboro Stadium where they played. The team eventually agreed to another proposal that saw the construction of Gillette Stadium. With the Patriots no longer in the equation, the state instead decided to construct a smaller football stadium on the former United Technologies-owned airfield in East Hartford. Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field seats approximately 40,000 spectators and is home to the Connecticut Huskies football team.

Professional sports teams
Club Sport League Venue
Hartford Wolf Pack Ice Hockey AHL XL Center
Hartford Yard Goats Baseball Eastern League Dunkin' Donuts Park
Hartford Athletic Soccer USL Championship Dillon Stadium

Collegiate sports teams
Team School Division Conference
Central Connecticut Blue Devils Central Connecticut State University NCAA Division I Northeast Conference
Connecticut Huskies University of Connecticut NCAA Division I Big East Conference
Hartford Hawks University of Hartford NCAA Division I America East Conference
Saint Joseph Blue Jays University of Saint Joseph NCAA Division III Little East Conference
Trinity Bantams Trinity College NCAA Division III NESCAC
Wesleyan Cardinals Wesleyan University NCAA Division III NESCAC

Greater Hartford is also home to the Travelers Championship golf tournament (formerly known as the Greater Hartford Open/Buick Championship).

Shopping centers
Entrance to the Westfarms Mall
Headquarters of the Hartford Courant

Major shopping centers in the area include:

Print

The Hartford Courant is the daily broadsheet newspaper serving the Greater Hartford area. Founded in 1764 as the Connecticut Courant, it is generally considered to be the oldest continually published newspaper in the United States. It is owned by Tribune Publishing.

From 1817 to 1976, the area was also served by another daily newspaper, the Hartford Times.

Television

Greater Hartford and Greater New Haven form a single television market. This television market is served by the following broadcast television stations:

English language
Spanish language

Transportation

Road
I-91 has HOV lanes in both directions between Hartford and Windsor
The Bulkeley Bridge carries I-84 across the Connecticut River
I-384 looking east from Exit 3 in Manchester, Connecticut
Westbound on Route 2 at its interchange with I-84

Interstate highways

Highway transportation in Greater Hartford is primarily run by two mainline Interstates:

There were several plans to expand the highway system (with at least one plan calling for a full beltway). Various plans encountered resistance due to budgetary and environmental concerns. However, some highways were ultimately constructed, if only partially:

  • I-291 (serves as the northeastern portion of the partial beltway)
  • I-384 (spur route into eastern Connecticut)
  • I-691 (originally a connection to Willimantic)

U.S. Routes

In the area, four major U.S. Routes serve the area's towns/cities:

Other major expressways

Some state highways also serve as major expressways:

Bus

Public bus transportation is operated by the Hartford division of CTTransit. It provides service to 30 local routes and 12 express routes seven days a week throughout the metropolitan area.[35]

2015 saw the opening of the CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit system that runs from downtown New Britain to Hartford Union Station. The dedicated busway is over 9 miles long and stops at 10 stations.[36][37][38]

Airport

Bradley International Airport (IATA: BDL, ICAO: KBDL, FAA LID: BDL) is located in the town of Windsor Locks, approximately 10 miles from Hartford. Bradley is the second-largest airport in New England (behind Logan International Airport), and was ranked the 55th busiest airport in the United States in 2008.[39][40] Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and US Airways account for more than half of the airport's passenger traffic.[41][42] The Bradley Airport Connector provides highway access to the airport from Interstate 91.

Bradley is a dual-use civil/military airport, with the Bradley Air National Guard Base serving as the home of the Connecticut Air National Guard 103d Airlift Wing.

Hartford–Brainard Airport (IATA: HFD, ICAO: KHFD, FAA LID: HFD) is a smaller reliever airport located in the southeastern section of Hartford. It is primarily used for general aviation purposes.[43]

Rail

Several Amtrak routes run through the metropolitan area, including the Northeast Regional, Vermonter, as well as a daily shuttle between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. CTrail-branded trains provide service along the corridor, and riders can use Hartford Line tickets to travel on board most Amtrak trains along the corridor at the same prices. The service launched on June 16, 2018.

Amtrak train at Hartford Union Station
CT Transit bus on Main Street in Hartford
Terminal A of Bradley International Airport
Aerial image of Hartford-Brainard Airport

References
  1. CONNECTICUT - Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) and Counties (PDF) (Map). US Census Bureau. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-30.
  2. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  3. "Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metro Area Demographics and Housing 2020 Decennial Census".
  4. Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas, March 6, 2020
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  6. CT Dept. of Economic and Community Development Service Delivery Areas
  7. "Office Locations and Directions". Aetna.
  8. "As it rebrands, Northeast Utilities to keep 2 headquarters". WTNH.
  9. "Main Contact Information". The Hartford.
  10. "Main Contact Information". Hartford Steam Boiler.
  11. "Phoenix Addresses". Phoenix Wealth Management.
  12. "Hartford". Travelers.
  13. "Contact Us". Virtus Investment Partners.
  14. "Contact Us". Barnes Group Inc.
  15. "Locations". United Technologies.
  16. "Cigna Contacts". Cigna.
  17. "Contact Us". Colt Manufacturing.
  18. "Contact Us". Doosan.
  19. "Our Locations". ESPN.
  20. "Contact Us". Gerber Technologies.
  21. "Henkel Locations". Henkel.
  22. "Corporate Office". Kaman Industrial Technologies.
  23. "Locations". Legrand.
  24. "USA Contact Info". Stanadyne.
  25. "Contact Us". Stanley Black & Decker. 30 March 2017.
  26. "Contact Us". Systemic Automation.
  27. "TRUMPF Locations in North America". Trumpf.
  28. "Voya Financial – At a Glance". ING. Archived from the original on 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  29. "Colleges & Universities". Connecticut State Colleges & Universities – Board of Regents for Higher Education.
  30. "Schools and Colleges | University of Connecticut". University of Connecticut. 5 February 2019.
  31. "College Profiles". Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.
  32. Affiliated Hospitals and Clinical Sites, UConn School of Medicine, retrieved 11 December 2014
  33. Jennifer Sposato (2010-07-09). "ConnectiCon Brings Thousands to Hartford".
  34. "AOPA Live Video Gallery". 24 August 2022.
  35. "CTTransit - Connecting the Community". Archived from the original on 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  36. "What Is CTfastrak". State of Connecticut. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  37. Krafcik, Mike (17 July 2014). "CTFastrak Set To Open In March; Economic Growth Expected Along Busway". WTIC Fox CT. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  38. LaPorte, Mike (5 November 2014). "The Busway to the Future: Insider to CTfastrak before Opening to Public". The Live Wire. Manchester Community College. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  39. Hanseder, Tony. "Hartford Bradley BDL Airport Overview". Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  40. "2008 Passenger Boarding Statistics" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  41. "Hartford, CT Bradley International FACTS". Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  42. RITA | BTS | Transtats. Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved on July 15, 2013.
  43. FAA Airport Form 5010 for HFD PDF, effective 2007-07-05
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