Norwalk, Connecticut


Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York Metropolitan Area, is the sixth-most populous city in Connecticut as of the 2020 census, with a population of 91,184.
Norwalk is on the northern shore of Long Island Sound and was first settled in 1649.

History

Roger Ludlow purchased the areas east of the Norwalk River from Chief Mahackemo of the Norwaake Indians in 1640. Norwalk was settled in 1649, incorporated September 1651, and named after the Algonquin word, meaning "point of land", or more probably from the Native American name "Naramauke".
The Battle of Norwalk took place during the Revolutionary War, and led to the burning of most of the town. In 1836, the borough of Norwalk was created, covering the central area of the town. In 1853, the first ever train disaster in the United States happened over the Norwalk River. During the 19th and early 20th century, Norwalk was a major railroad stop for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. The city of South Norwalk and the remaining parts of the town of Norwalk were both combined in 1910 to form the current city.
The Ku Klux Klan had a brief presence in Norwalk during the 1920s, but quickly fell apart due to internal issues. In 1955, multiple hurricanes hit the city, causing flooding in Norwalk Harbor. During the 1970s, efforts were taken to historically preserve South Norwalk, resulting in the creation of the Washington Street Historic District.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which are covered by water.

Neighborhoods

Climate


Topography

Norwalk's topography is dominated by its coastline along Long Island Sound, the Norwalk River and its eastern and western banks, and the Norwalk Islands. The highest elevation is above sea level on the fairway of the 16th hole of the Silvermine Golf Course, and the low elevation is sea level on Long Island Sound.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, 85,603 people, 35,415 households, and 21,630 families resided in the city. The population density was. The 35,415 housing units had an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 68.7% White, 14.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 9.1% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 24.3% of the population.
Of the 35,415 households, 27.9% had children under 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were not families. About 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size in the city was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.16.
The age distribution was 22% under 18, with 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $76,161, and for a family was $103,032. The per capita income for the city was $43,303. About 5.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

, Datto, FactSet, Pepperidge Farm, Priceline.com, Terex, Ventus, and Xerox have headquarters in Norwalk. The Financial Accounting Foundation and the Financial Accounting Standards Board are also based in Norwalk.

Arts and culture

Attractions

United States Congress

Connecticut General Assembly

Connecticut State Senate

Connecticut House of Representatives

Politics

Norwalk has voted Democratic for president since 1992, when the city voted for Bill Clinton. However, between 1928 and 1992, the city only voted Democratic twice: 1936 and 1964.
YearDemocraticRepublicanThird parties
202463.59% 26,52634.97% 14,5861.44% 602
202067.99% 29,38230.80% 13,3111.21% 521
201663.86% 24,41432.23% 12,3243.91% 1,494
201263.01% 22,36935.98% 12,7731.01% 357
200865.51% 24,48933.84% 12,6510.65% 244
200458.15% 20,61540.06% 14,2011.79% 633
200059.90% 19,29335.76% 11,5194.34% 1,399
199655.52% 17,35434.55% 10,8009.93% 3,105
199244.02% 16,48839.36% 14,74316.62% 6,224
198843.23% 14,51855.44% 18,6181.33% 445
198435.68% 12,50964.03% 22,4470.29% 102
198036.40% 11,78552.40% 16,96911.20% 3,627
197642.69% 13,72456.53% 18,1760.78% 250
197234.17% 11,45964.10% 21,4961.73% 579
196841.59% 13,33051.50% 16,5036.91% 2,215
196461.90% 19,62038.10% 12,0760.00% 0
196044.32% 13,74455.68% 17,2680.00% 0
195628.48% 8,13471.52% 20,4280.00% 0
195243.47% 10,28061.52% 17,0311.34% 372
194837.13% 9,98052.41% 12,0324.12% 947
194446.88% 9,82253.12% 11,1310.00% 0
194049.29% 9,86950.71% 10,1530.00% 0
193656.17% 9,21643.83% 7,1910.00% 0
193246.40% 6,37553.60% 7,3640.00% 0
192837.95% 4,86761.32% 7,8650.73% 94

Districts

Norwalk has six taxing districts. The First, Second, Third, and Sixth taxing districts are political entities with their respective voters electing officers, holding annual business meetings, approving budgets, and considering other matters, as specified in each of their charters. Election of Taxing District Commissioners and Treasurers by voters from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th districts take place in odd-numbered years. The Fourth and Fifth districts are not counted as separate governments, as they constitute the city proper. Each taxing district has its own property tax rate reflecting the mix of services each receives from the city.
Secondly, municipal elections of mayor, common council, board of education, and other positions are also held in odd-numbered years at 13 polling places within five voting districts around the city. Voting districts are not the same for state and federal elections, which are held on even-numbered years at 12 polling locations.

Municipal

Norwalk's municipal government is a weak-mayor form of a mayor-council government with the mayor of Norwalk elected by its voters. The city's charter gives certain administrative powers exclusively to the council and others jointly to the Council and Mayor. The Common Council is the law-writing body of the City of Norwalk. Norwalk's common council consists of fifteen council members, five elected at-large and ten elected by district, two from each district.

Representatives

Norwalk is represented in the Connecticut General Assembly by five House representatives corresponding to five Connecticut legislative districts and one senator from one Connecticut Senate district.
Norwalk, which lies within Connecticut's 4th congressional district, is represented in the United States Congress by one congressional representative in the United States House of Representatives, and along with the rest of Connecticut, by two U.S. Senators in the United States Senate.

Education

operates public schools, while the community also has various private schools.
Norwalk was granted a town charter by the Connecticut General Court in 1651. On May 29, 1678, town records mention the establishment of community-supported teaching activities with a passage that reads:
"'At a town meeting... voted and agreed to hier a scole master to teach all the children in ye town to lerne to Rede and write; and that Mr. Cornish shall be hierd for that service and the townsmen are to hier him upon as reasonable terms as they can."
The school that was established in the 1670s was located near the Ludlow Square area of East Norwalk.