Old Lyme is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 7,684 people and three associated neighborhoods, Old Lyme is the 112th largest community in Connecticut. Housing costs in Old Lyme are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Connecticut.Old Lyme is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 88.40% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Old Lyme is a town of professionals, managers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Old Lyme who work in management occupations (17.33%), sales jobs (10.12%), and food service (8.32%). Also of interest is that Old Lyme has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 21.28% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Old Lyme is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums. Because of many things, Old Lyme is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Old Lyme really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Old Lyme perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. Old Lyme is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Old Lyme, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Old Lyme is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 54.56% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%. The per capita income in Old Lyme in 2022 was $75,411, which is wealthy relative to Connecticut and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $301,644 for a family of four. Old Lyme is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Old Lyme home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Old Lyme residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Old Lyme include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Old Lyme is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
