Historical United States Census totals for New London County, Connecticut facts for kids

New London County, located in New England, is unique because it's completely divided into official towns, cities, and boroughs. There are no areas here that aren't part of one of these local governments.

In Connecticut, there are three main types of local governments: towns, boroughs, and cities. Towns are the most common and basic type of local government, similar to how they work in other New England states.

Boroughs are smaller areas that exist within towns. They handle some local services for their residents, like maybe trash collection or local parks. Boroughs are not very common in Connecticut today, and you won't find them in other New England states. Many boroughs have even decided to stop being a borough and let the main town take over all services again.

Cities in Connecticut can also exist within towns. This is a bit different from other New England states, where a city is usually its own main type of government, like a town. Most cities in Connecticut now cover the entire area of their parent town, meaning the whole area acts as one city. These cities work pretty much the same way as cities in other New England states.

Sometimes, a city might cover only part of a town, not the whole thing. This used to be more common. Like boroughs, some of these cities that only covered part of a town have also decided to stop being a city and let the main town manage everything.

To learn more about how towns work in New England, you can check out the New England town article.

Changes in Local Governments Since 1900

Local governments in New London County have changed over time. Here are some important updates since 1900:

• 1952 - Norwich became a city that covered its entire town. Before this, the city of Norwich was only a part of the larger town of Norwich.

New London County Population by Town (1900-2000)

These tables show how many people lived in each town in New London County during different census years. The total for all towns combined gives you the county's total population.

1900 Census: County Total 82,758

• Norwich (*) 24,637
• New London (city) 17,548
• Stonington 8,540
• Groton 5,962
• Griswold 3,490
• Waterford 2,904
• Preston 2,807
• Montville 2,395
• Colchester 1,991
• East Lyme 1,836
• Lebanon 1,521
• Sprague 1,339
• Ledyard 1,236
• North Stonington 1,240
• Old Lyme 1,180
• Voluntown 872
• Bozrah 799
• Lyme 750
• Lisbon 697
• Franklin 546
• Salem 468

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1910 Census: County Total 91,253

• Norwich (*) 28,219
• New London (city) 19,659
• Stonington 9,154
• Groton 6,495
• Griswold 4,233
• Waterford 3,097
• Montville 2,804
• Sprague 2,551
• Colchester 2,140
• Preston 1,917
• East Lyme 1,916
• Lebanon 1,528
• Old Lyme 1,181
• North Stonington 1,100
• Ledyard 1,079
• Bozrah 861
• Lisbon 824
• Voluntown 779
• Lyme 746
• Franklin 527
• Salem 443

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1920 Census: County Total 104,611

• Norwich (*) 29,685
• New London (city) 25,688
• Stonington 10,236
• Groton 9,227
• Griswold 4,220
• Waterford 3,935
• Montville 3,411
• Preston 2,743
• Sprague 2,500
• East Lyme 2,291
• Colchester 2,050
• Lebanon 1,343
• Ledyard 1,161
• North Stonington 1,144
• Old Lyme 946
• Lisbon 867
• Bozrah 858
• Lyme 674
• Voluntown 656
• Franklin 552
• Salem 424

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1930 Census: County Total 118,966

• Norwich (*) 32,438
• New London (city) 29,640
• Stonington 11,025
• Groton 10,770
• Griswold 6,010
• Waterford 4,742
• Montville 3,970
• Preston 3,928
• East Lyme 2,575
• Sprague 2,539
• Colchester 2,134
• Lebanon 1,436
• Old Lyme 1,313
• Ledyard 1,144
• North Stonington 1,135
• Lisbon 1,097
• Bozrah 859
• Voluntown 651
• Franklin 611
• Lyme 546
• Salem 403

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1940 Census: County Total 125,224

• Norwich (*) 34,140
• New London (city) 30,456
• Stonington 11,002
• Groton 10,910
• Waterford 6,594
• Griswold 5,343
• Montville 4,135
• Preston 4,206
• East Lyme 3,338
• Colchester 2,338
• Sprague 2,285
• Old Lyme 1,702
• Lebanon 1,467
• Ledyard 1,426
• North Stonington 1,236
• Lisbon 1,131
• Bozrah 904
• Voluntown 723
• Lyme 717
• Franklin 667
• Salem 504

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1950 Census: County Total 144,821

• Norwich (*) 37,633
• New London (city) 30,551
• Groton 21,896
• Stonington 11,801
• Waterford 9,100
• Griswold 5,728
• Montville 4,766
• East Lyme 3,870
• Colchester 3,007
• Sprague 2,320
• Old Lyme 2,141
• Preston 1,775
• Ledyard 1,749
• Lebanon 1,654
• North Stonington 1,367
• Lisbon 1,282
• Bozrah 1,154
• Lyme 857
• Voluntown 825
• Franklin 727
• Salem 618

(*) This town included a city that covered a large part of its population, but not the whole town.

1960 Census: County Total 185,745

• Norwich (city) 38,506
• New London (city) 34,182
• Groton 29,937
• Waterford 15,391
• Stonington 13,969
• Griswold 6,472
• Montville 7,759
• East Lyme 6,782
• Ledyard 5,395
• Preston 4,992
• Colchester 4,648
• Old Lyme 3,068
• Sprague 2,509
• Lebanon 2,434
• Lisbon 2,019
• North Stonington 1,982
• Bozrah 1,590
• Lyme 1,183
• Voluntown 1,028
• Franklin 974
• Salem 925

1970 Census: County Total 230,654

• Norwich (city) 41,739
• Groton 38,244
• New London (city) 31,630
• Waterford 17,227
• Stonington 15,940
• Montville 15,662
• Ledyard 14,837
• East Lyme 11,399
• Griswold 7,763
• Colchester 6,603
• Old Lyme 4,964
• Lebanon 3,804
• North Stonington 3,748
• Preston 3,593
• Sprague 2,912
• Lisbon 2,808
• Bozrah 2,036
• Lyme 1,484
• Salem 1,453
• Voluntown 1,452
• Franklin 1,356

1980 Census: County Total 238,409

• Groton 41,062
• Norwich (city) 38,074
• New London (city) 28,842
• Waterford 17,843
• Montville 16,455
• Stonington 16,220
• East Lyme 13,870
• Ledyard 13,735
• Griswold 8,967
• Colchester 7,761
• Old Lyme 6,159
• Lebanon 4,762
• Preston 4,644
• North Stonington 4,219
• Lisbon 3,279
• Sprague 2,996
• Salem 2,335
• Bozrah 2,135
• Lyme 1,822
• Voluntown 1,637
• Franklin 1,592

1990 Census: County Total 254,957

• Groton 45,144
• Norwich (city) 37,391
• New London (city) 28,540
• Waterford 17,930
• Stonington 16,919
• Montville 16,673
• East Lyme 15,340
• Ledyard 14,913
• Colchester 10,980
• Griswold 10,384
• Old Lyme 6,535
• Lebanon 6,041
• Preston 5,006
• North Stonington 4,884
• Lisbon 3,790
• Salem 3,310
• Sprague 3,008
• Bozrah 2,297
• Voluntown 2,113
• Lyme 1,949
• Franklin 1,810

2000 Census: County Total 259,106

• Groton 39,925
• Norwich (city) 36,117
• New London (city) 26,185
• Waterford 18,638
• Montville 18,546
• East Lyme 18,118
• Stonington 17,906
• Ledyard 14,687
• Colchester 14,551
• Griswold 10,807
• Old Lyme 7,406
• Lebanon 6,907
• North Stonington 4,991
• Preston 4,688
• Lisbon 4,069
• Salem 3,858
• Sprague 2,971
• Voluntown 2,528
• Bozrah 2,357
• Lyme 2,016
• Franklin 1,835

Boroughs and Cities Within Towns

In 1900, New London County had three boroughs and one city that were located inside larger towns:

• The borough of Colchester, within the town of Colchester.
• The borough of Jewett City, within the town of Griswold.
• The borough of Stonington, within the town of Stonington.
• The city of Norwich, within the town of Norwich.

The city of New London was already a city that covered its entire town by 1900. A fourth borough, Groton, was created in 1903 within the town of Groton. Here are some changes that happened after that:

• 1952 – The city of Norwich became a city that covered its entire parent town.
• 1964 – The borough of Groton became a city.
• 1990 – The borough of Colchester stopped being a borough.

Population of Boroughs and Non-coextensive Cities

1900

• Norwich (city) 17,251
• Stonington (borough) 2,278
• Jewett City (borough) 2,224
• Colchester (borough) 858

1910

• Norwich (city) 20,367
• Jewett City (borough) 3,023
• Stonington (borough) 2,083
• Groton (borough) 1,895
• Colchester (borough) 978

1920

• Norwich (city) 22,304
• Groton (borough) 4,236
• Jewett City (borough) 3,196
• Stonington (borough) 2,100
• Colchester (borough) 913

1930

• Norwich (city) 23,021
• Jewett City (borough) 4,436
• Groton (borough) 4,122
• Stonington (borough) 2,006
• Colchester (borough) 937

1940

• Norwich (city) 23,652
• Groton (borough) 4,719
• Jewett City (borough) 3,682
• Stonington (borough) 1,826
• Colchester (borough) 1,234

1950

• Norwich (city) 23,429
• Groton (borough) 7,036
• Jewett City (borough) 3,702
• Stonington (borough) 1,739
• Colchester (borough) 1,522

1960

• Groton (borough) 10,111
• Jewett City (borough) 3,608
• Colchester (borough) 2,260
• Stonington (borough) 1,622

1970

• Groton (city) 8,933
• Colchester (borough) 3,529
• Jewett City (borough) 3,372
• Stonington (borough) 1,413

1980

• Groton (city) 10,086
• Jewett City (borough) 3,294
• Colchester (borough) 3,190
• Stonington (borough) 1,228

1990

• Groton (city) 9,837
• Jewett City (borough) 3,349
• Colchester (borough) 3,212
• Stonington (borough) 1,100

2000

• Groton (city) 9,288
• Jewett City (borough) 3,053
• Stonington (borough) 1,032

Notes on Census Data

Sometimes, the numbers from the Census Bureau (the group that counts people) are changed or corrected after they are first released. Here are some notes about those changes for New London County:

1950 Census Notes

The 1960 Census reports mentioned that the entire population of Norwich State Hospital (3,082 people) was counted in Norwich town for the 1950 Census, even though parts of the hospital were in Preston town. This means the 1950 population numbers for Norwich and Preston might not be perfectly accurate. The error was never fixed, so we don't have the exact correct numbers for that year.

1970 Census Notes

The Census Bureau made some changes to the 1970 population totals after they were first announced. For example, the total for New London County was first reported as 230,348, but it was later changed to 230,654. Similar changes were made for Norwich city, Groton town, and Ledyard town. The numbers you see in the tables above are the corrected ones.

1990 Census Notes

The Census Bureau also made changes to the 1990 totals. A new borough called Groton Long Point (within the town of Groton) was added with a population of 628. Even though it was listed as a borough by the Census, the Groton Long Point Association sees itself as a special district, not a borough. Because its status is debated, its population numbers are not included in the main tables above.

2000 Census Notes

The 2000 Census totals also had some revisions. The total for New London County was first reported as 259,088 but was later changed to 259,106. Other towns like Groton, New London, and Waterford also had their numbers updated. For New London and Waterford, these changes were made to fix a counting error between them, but their combined population stayed the same.

The 2000 Census again listed Groton Long Point as a borough with a population of 667. However, because its status is still debated (as mentioned in the 1990 notes), its population is not included in the tables above.