Connecticut Has the Tools to Address Housing Shortage

[Excerpt from article by Aidan Lame, 3/26/26]

Recently, Connecticut non-profit DataHaven published an article looking at where housing has been built within the state using the Address Count Listings data, a new product from the Census Bureau.

Previously, we could estimate new construction by analyzing permit data through the Building Permits Survey.

The Address Count Listings expands our capabilities by showing recently completed unit counts as they are added to postal service address rolls.

DataHaven’s analysis illustrates some of the key findings we can get from this new product.

Their research shows that 40,000 new units have been built in the state between 2020 and 2025 with just 10 towns, primarily the largest cities, accounting for 39% of housing.

Overall construction is concentrated in just a few census tracts, highlighting that much of the new housing constructed in the state during that period was in large multifamily developments.

Relative Growth

Our analysis looks to build on DataHaven’s research in two ways.

First, we examine new housing construction in per capita terms to better understand the relative growth in communities across the state, as well as how the state compares to others.

Second, we perform a simple regression to better understand relationships between housing construction and price or population growth.

Both of these contributions will give readers a better understanding of where housing construction is growing fastest, and the broader impact this new housing is having on the respective communities.

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Impact on Prices, Population

In 2025, more than 300,000 people in Connecticut reported being unable to pay for housing, double the 150,000 who reported the same in 2015 [according to DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey data].

Affordability, therefore, is of central concern to the conversations regarding new housing growth in the state.

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