Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, centered on the state's capital of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...

region to the northeast and

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

to the south and west. 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 The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

, with

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

y, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford (the metropolitan area as defined by the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

), had a total population of 1,213,531 at the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

. Hartford's role as a focal point for the American

insurance industry Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

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 Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, th ...

, with both cities being served by

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England. The airport is about half ...

and with their shared presence within the

Knowledge Corridor Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distin ...

, 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. 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

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

also defines the Hartford–East Hartford–Middletown, CT

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

(MSA) based on towns as building blocks. The area contains 54 towns of

Hartford County Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains th ...

Tolland County Tolland County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,788. It is incorporated into 13 towns and was originally formed on 13 October 1785 from portions of eastern ...

, and Middlesex County. The 2015 population estimate for the MSA is 1,211,324, 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 The Lower Connecticut River Valley is a region of the state of Connecticut around the juncture where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. It includes towns in Middlesex County and the western edge of New London County. It is located ...

, 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.

Municipalities with 100,000 or more inhabitants

Municipalities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

East Hartford East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospa ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the D ...

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The ...

Municipalities with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

* Avon *

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

* Bloomfield *

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

* Clinton *

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

* East Hampton * East Windsor *

Ellington Ellington may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Ellington, Cambridgeshire *Ellington, Northumberland * Ellington High and Low, a civil parish in North Yorkshire **High Ellington ** Low Ellington United States *Ellington Airport (Texas), Ho ...

* Enfield * Farmington *

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

* Granby *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

* Middletown * Newington * Old Saybrook * Plainville * Rocky Hill *

Simsbury Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, th ...

* Somers * South Windsor * Southington *

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in th ...

* Suffield * Tolland * Vernon * Wethersfield * Windsor *

Windsor Locks Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxim ...

Municipalities with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

* Burlington *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

* Deep River *

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

* East Granby *

East Haddam East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the N ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

* Haddam * Hartland *

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

Killingworth Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town in North Tyneside, England. Killingworth was built as a planned town in the 1960s, next to Killingworth Village, which existed for centuries before the Township. Other nearby towns an ...

* Marlborough * Middlefield *

North Stonington North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut which was split off from Stonington in 1724. The population was 5,149 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of w ...

* Portland * Westbrook * Willington

Municipalities with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants

* Union Town also included in the

NECTA

Economy

Notable companies based in Hartford city proper

Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

* Eversource Energy (co-headquarters in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

) *

The Hartford The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., usually known as The Hartford, is a United States-based investment and insurance company. The Hartford is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in its namesake city of Hartford, Connecticut. It was ranke ...

Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company (HSB) founded in 1866 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S., is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer. The company is the largest provider of equipment breakdown insuranc ...

* The Phoenix Companies *

Travelers Insurance The Travelers Companies, Inc., commonly known as Travelers, is an American insurance company. It is the second-largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty insurance, and the sixth-largest writer of U.S. personal insurance through indepen ...

(home of largest office, headquarters in New York City) *

Virtus Investment Partners Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. operates a multi-manager asset management business, comprising a number of individual affiliated managers, each having its own investment process and brand, and the services of unaffiliated subadvisers. History V ...

Notable companies based in surrounding towns

Barnes Group Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) is a global industrial and aerospace manufacturer and service provider. It was founded in 1857 by the great-grandfather of Wallace Barnes Wallace Barnes (March 22, 1926 – December 10, 2020) was the chairman and ch ...

(Bristol) *

Carrier Corporation Carrier Global Corporation is an American multinational heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and fire and security equipment corporation based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Carrier was founded in 1915 as an independ ...

(Farmington) *

Cigna Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and se ...

(Bloomfield) *

Colt's Manufacturing Company Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt and is now a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the suc ...

(West Hartford) * Connecticut Natural Gas (East Hartford) * Doosan Fuel Cell America (South Windsor) *

ESPN Inc. ESPN Inc. is an American multinational sports media conglomerate majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Hearst Communications as an equity stakeholder. For management and financial reporting purposes, the company is the main entity w ...

(Bristol) *

Gerber Scientific Gerber Scientific Inc., headquartered in Tolland, Connecticut Tolland is a suburban town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,563 at the 2020 census. History Tolland was named in May, 1715, and incorpor ...

(Tolland) *

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is active in both the consumer and industrial sectors. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organ ...

(Rocky Hill, U.S. headquarters) *

Kaman Aircraft Kaman Corporation is an American aerospace company, with headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1945 by Charles Kaman. During the first ten years the company operated exclusively as a designer and manufacturer of several he ...

(Bloomfield) * Legrand (West Hartford, U.S. headquarters) * Otis Elevator (Farmington) *

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military av ...

(East Hartford) *

Stanadyne Stanadyne LLC (originally known as Stanadyne Automotive Corporation) is a developer and manufacturer of fuel pumps and fuel injectors for diesel and gasoline engines. The company is based in Windsor, Connecticut, with global locations in Changsh ...

(Windsor) *

Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a Fortune 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware and provider of security products. Headquartered in the greater Hartford city of New Britain ...

(New Britain) * Systematic Automation (Farmington) * Trumpf (Farmington, U.S. headquarters) *

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, ...

(Farmington) * Voya Financial (Windsor, home of largest office, headquarters in New York City) 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:. UCONNfromsky

* Central Connecticut State University (New Britain) *

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

(Storrs, main campus) **

University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine is a school of dentistry located at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut, United States. The school is often placed highly in national rankings, and was ranked #1 by the National ...

(Farmington) **

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

(Hartford) **

University of Connecticut School of Medicine The University of Connecticut School of Medicine is a medical school located in Farmington, Connecticut. It was founded in 1961, enrolled students in 1968, and graduated its first class in 1972. The school is part of UConn Health, along with th ...

(Farmington)

Community and technical colleges

Public, two-year community colleges in the area include: * Asnuntuck Community College (Enfield) * Capital Community College (Hartford) * Manchester Community College (Manchester) * Middlesex Community College (Middletown) *

Tunxis Community College Tunxis Community College is a public community college in Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 ce ...

(Farmington)

Private colleges and universities

Private, nonprofit, four-year universities in the area include: trincollchapel

Goodwin College Goodwin University is a private university in East Hartford, Connecticut. History Goodwin University began as Data Institute Business School in 1962. In 2004, the college transitioned to not-for-profit status and was granted accreditation by t ...

(East Hartford) * Hartford Seminary (Hartford) * Rensselaer at Hartford (Hartford) *

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(Hartford) *

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and ...

(West Hartford) * University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford) *

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

(Middletown)

Healthcare

There are numerous hospitals in the Greater Hartford area, including five

teaching hospitals A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-locate ...

(of which, one is a

pediatric hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

) and two psychiatric hospitals.

Teaching hospitals

Connecticut Children's Medical Center Connecticut Children's Medical Center is a nationally ranked, independent, non-profit, pediatric acute care hospital located in Hartford, Connecticut. The hospital has 185 beds and is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of the University of C ...

(Hartford) *

Hartford Hospital Hartford Hospital is an 938-bed acute care teaching hospital located in the South End of Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford Hospital was established in 1854. The hospital campus is located on Seymour Street in Hartford and is directly adjacent to t ...

(Hartford) * The Hospital of Central Connecticut (New Britain and Southington) * Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center (Hartford) * University of Connecticut Health Center, John Dempsey Hospital (Farmington) ''All of the above hospitals are affiliated with the

Psychiatric hospitals

* Connecticut Valley Hospital, owned and operated by the

state of Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

(Middletown) *

The Institute of Living The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including: * A 24/7 crisis evaluation telephone assessment and triage: Experienced psychiatri ...

, a division of Hartford Hospital (Hartford)

Culture and attractions

Performing arts

The

Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts (formerly known as Bushnell Memorial Hall or simply The Bushnell ) is a performing arts venue at 166 Capitol Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Managed by a non-profit organization, it is marketed as Con ...

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 Xfinity Theatre (originally known as the Meadows Music Theatre) is an outdoor/indoor amphitheatre located in Hartford, Connecticut, owned by Live Nation. The capacity of the venue is 30,000. The indoor area holds 7,500 and the outdoor lawn area h ...

, a 7,500-seat open-air

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

. 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 The Connecticut Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, United States, overlooking the Connecticut River. History The center opened on June 2 2005. It was designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback ...

is located in downtown Hartford adjacent to the Hartford Marriot Downtown. The facility has more than of exhibition space, a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic ...

, and of space for meetings and conferences. Since 2005, it has hosted

ConnectiCon ConnectiCon is an annual multi-genre convention dedicated to "a celebration of pop culture - everything from anime, to science fiction, comic books and card games." Events The convention includes 24-hour screening rooms of full-length features a ...

, an annual, multi-genre, pop culture convention. The

New England Air Museum The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its co ...

also hosts many events, with three large hangars available for use. One of the more popular events held there is

FlightSimCon FlightSimCon was an annual aviation and flight simulation conference held on the grounds of Connecticut's Bradley International Airport. Until 2016, the event was held at the nearby New England Air Museum. The event grew in size every year since ...

. In addition,

AOPA The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United State ...

has held their annual aviation summit in Hartford.

Notable museums

American Clock & Watch Museum The American Clock & Watch Museum (ACWM), located in Bristol, Connecticut, is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and timekeepers. Located in the hea ...

(Bristol) * Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford) * The Children's Museum, Connecticut (West Hartford) *

Connecticut Science Center The Connecticut Science Center is a nine-story museum located on the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut designed by César Pelli & Associates, which opened on June 12, 2009. The building measures a total of , including of interactive exhib ...

(Hartford) * Connecticut State Library, Museum of Connecticut History (Hartford) *

Connecticut Trolley Museum The Connecticut Trolley Museum, founded in October 1940, is the oldest incorporated museum dedicated to electric railroading in the United States. The museum is located in East Windsor, Connecticut and is open to the public April through Decembe ...

(East Windsor) * New Britain Museum of American Art (New Britain) *

(Windsor Locks) * Old State House (Hartford) *

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...

(Hartford)

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 The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

ice hockey team from 1974 to 1997. The Whalers came to Hartford playing in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

, until they were admitted to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

in 1979. In 1997, the team relocated to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, where they were renamed the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

Throughout the mid-1990s, the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

were negotiating with the state of Connecticut for a brand new football stadium located in downtown Hartford to replace the aging

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

where they played. The team eventually agreed to another proposal that saw the construction of

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Foo ...

. 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

Collegiate sports teams

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

Buick Championship Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General M ...

Shopping centers

Major shopping centers in the area include: *

Blue Back Square Blue Back Square is a mixed-use, downtown destination development located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Blue Back Square is a unique shopping, living, dining, and entertainment destination and is home to 120 residences, 250,000 SF of commercial an ...

(West Hartford) * Enfield Square Mall (Enfield) *

The Shoppes at Buckland Hills The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, formerly and commonly known as Buckland Hills Mall is a shopping mall located in Manchester, Connecticut and is currently owned by Spinoso Real Estate Group. The mall is currently anchored by the traditional chains Ma ...

(Manchester) * Westfarms Mall (West Hartford)

Media

Print

The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' is the daily

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...

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 Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', th ...

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

Hartford Times ''The Hartford Times'' was a daily afternoon newspaper serving the Hartford, Connecticut, community from 1817 to 1976. It was owned for decades by the Gannett Company which sold the financially struggling paper in 1973 to the owners of the '' N ...

''.

Television

Greater Hartford and

Greater New Haven Greater New Haven is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in the U.S. state of Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on the city of New Haven. It occupies the south-central portion of the sta ...

form a single television market. This television market is served by the following broadcast television stations:

=English language

= * WFSB ( CBS) *

WTNH WTNH (channel 8) is a television station licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WCTX (channel 59), a ...

( ABC) * WCCT (

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) *

WEDH Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member network for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds the licenses ...

( PBS) * WHPX (

Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented en ...

) *

WVIT WVIT (channel 30) is a television station licensed to New Britain, Connecticut, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Hartford–New Haven market. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations divisio ...

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) * WCTX (

My Network TV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

) * WTIC ( Fox)

=Spanish language

= *

WUVN WUVN (channel 18) is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven television market as an affiliate of the Spanish-language Univision network. It is owned by Entravision Communications al ...

(

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...

) * WHCT ( Azteca) * WUTH (

UniMás UniMás (, stylized as ''UNIMÁS'', and originally known as TeleFutura from its launch on January 14, 2002, to January 6, 2013) is an American Spanish free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which i ...

) * WRDM (

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

)

Transportation

Road

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: * (serves as the northeastern portion of the partial beltway) * (spur route into eastern Connecticut) * (originally a connection to Willimantic)

U.S. Routes

In the area, four major

U.S. Routes The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

serve the area's towns/cities: * * * *

Other major expressways

Some state highways also serve as major expressways: * * (initially part of the larger I-491 plan) * (serves as the southwestern portion of the partial beltway) * *

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. 2015 saw the opening of the CTfastrak, a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

system that runs from downtown New Britain to Hartford Union Station. The dedicated busway is over 9 miles long and stops at 10 stations.

Airport

is located in the town of

, approximately 10 miles from Hartford. Bradley is the second-largest airport in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

(behind

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...

), and was ranked the 55th busiest airport in the United States in 2008.

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

, JetBlue Airways, and

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

account for more than half of the airport's passenger traffic.RITA , BTS , Transtats
Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved on July 15, 2013. The

Bradley Airport Connector The Bradley Airport Connector (also the Bradley Field Connector) is a expressway built to connect Bradley International Airport to Interstate 91 in Windsor, Connecticut. It begins at Exit 40 of I-91 and heads west following Route 20 for about ...

provides highway access to the airport from Interstate 91. Bradley is a dual-use civil/military airport, with the

Bradley Air National Guard Base Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England. The airport is about halfw ...

serving as the home of the

Connecticut Air National Guard The Connecticut Air National Guard (CT ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Connecticut, United States of America. It is, along with the Connecticut Army National Guard, an element of the Connecticut National Guard. As state militia units ...

103d Airlift Wing. Hartford–Brainard Airport is a smaller reliever airport located in the southeastern section of Hartford. It is primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

purposes., effective 2007-07-05

Rail

Several

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

routes run through the metropolitan area, including the ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...

'', '' Vermonter'', as well as a daily shuttle between

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

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.

References

{{Northeast Megalopolis Regions of Connecticut Metropolitan areas of Connecticut Geography of Hartford, Connecticut Northeast megalopolis