Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 according to the 2020 census and was estimated to have 124,006 people in 2025. Hartford is the most populous city in the Capitol Planning Region and serves as the core city of the Greater Hartford metropolitan area, which includes 1.17 million residents.

Founded in 1635, Hartford is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is home to the country's second oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the second oldest publicly funded park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (the Hartford Courant), the second-oldest secondary school (Hartford Public High School), and the oldest school for deaf children (American School for the Deaf), established in 1817 by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. The city is also the location of the Mark Twain House, where the author Mark Twain wrote his most famous works and raised his family. He wrote in 1868, "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."

Hartford and New Haven shared the role of capital for Connecticut from 1664, and Hartford has been the sole capital since 1875. For many years after the American Civil War, Hartford was the wealthiest city in the United States. However, since 2015, it has been one of the poorest cities in the country, with three out of ten families living below the poverty threshold. In contrast, the Greater Hartford metropolitan statistical area ranked 32nd out of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and 8th out of 280 metropolitan statistical areas in per capita income in 2015.

Known as the "Insurance Capital of the World" and "America's filing cabinet," Hartford is a city of global importance due to its role as the headquarters for many insurance companies, the region's major industry. Other important industries include services, education, and healthcare. Hartford works with the Hartford–Springfield region on development projects through the Knowledge Corridor Economic Partnership.

History

Various Native American tribes lived in or near Hartford. These tribes were all part of the Algonquian group. They included the Podunks, who mainly lived east of the Connecticut River; the Poquonocks, who lived north and west of Hartford; the Massacoes, who lived in the Simsbury area; the Tunxis tribe, who lived in West Hartford and Farmington; the Wangunks, who lived to the south; and the Saukiog, who lived in Hartford itself.

The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch, led by Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut River in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to build a trading post and fortify the area for the Dutch West India Company. The original site was on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop, or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler officially bought the land around Fort Hoop from a Pequot chief for a small amount of money. The fort was home to a few families and about 50 soldiers. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is now called Dutch Point. The name of the Dutch fort, "House of Hope," is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. A major reason for building the Dutch trading post was to control the flow of wampum, the main type of money used in New Netherland and parts of New England, between Native American fur traders and European buyers.

The Dutch outpost and the small group of Dutch soldiers stationed there did little to stop the growing number of English settlers. The Dutch quickly realized they were outnumbered by the English. The House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was gradually taken over by English settlers. In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant met with English leaders to agree on a permanent boundary between Dutch and English colonies. The line they agreed on was more than 50 miles (80 km) west of the original settlement.

The English began arriving in 1636, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods. Puritan pastors Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone, along with Governor John Haynes, led 100 settlers and 130 cattle in a journey from Newtown in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Cambridge) and started their settlement just north of the Dutch fort. The settlement was originally called Newtown, but it was renamed Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stone’s hometown of Hertford, England. Hooker also created the nearby town of Windsor in 1633. The name "Hartford" comes from the word for a place where deer cross a river, or a "deer crossing."

As the Puritan minister in Hartford, Thomas Hooker had a lot of influence. In 1638, he gave a sermon that inspired the writing of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which helped separate Connecticut from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and set up a civil government. These orders were the legal foundation for Connecticut Colony until the 1662 royal charter granted by Charles II.

The original settlement area included the site of the Charter Oak, an old white oak tree where colonists hid Connecticut’s Royal Charter of 1662 to protect it from an English governor. The state adopted the oak tree as the symbol on the Connecticut state quarter. The Charter Oak Monument is located at the corner of Charter Oak Place and Charter Oak Avenue.

On December 15, 1814, delegates from the five New England states (Maine was still part of Massachusetts at that time) met at the Hartford Convention to discuss whether New England should leave the United States. During the early 19th century, Hartford was a center for abolitionist activity. The most famous abolitionist family was the Beechers. Reverend Lyman Beecher was a Congregational minister who spoke strongly against slavery. His daughter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her brother, Henry Ward Beecher, was a clergyman who opposed slavery and supported the temperance movement and women’s suffrage. Harriet’s sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker, was a leader in the women’s rights movement.

In 1860, Hartford was the site of the first "Wide Awakes," abolitionist supporters of Abraham Lincoln. These supporters organized torchlight parades that were both political and social events, often including fireworks and music, to celebrate Lincoln’s visit to the city. This type of event became common in mid-to-late 19th-century campaigns.

Hartford was a major manufacturing city from the 19th century until the mid-20th century. During the Industrial Revolution and into the mid-20th century, cities along the Connecticut River Valley produced many important precision manufacturing innovations. Among these was Hartford’s pioneer bicycle and automobile maker, Pope. Many factories have since closed, moved, or reduced operations, as happened in most former Northern manufacturing cities.

Around 1850, Hartford native Samuel Colt developed a precise manufacturing process that allowed the mass production of thousands of revolvers with interchangeable parts. Over the next several decades, many industries adopted and adapted these techniques. Hartford became a center for producing a wide range of products, including: Colt, Richard Gatling, and John Browning firearms; Weed sewing machines; Columbia bicycles; Pope automobiles; and leading typewriter manufacturers, Royal Typewriter Company and Underwood Typewriter Company. These companies made Hartford the "Typewriter Capitol of the World" during the first half of the 20th century.

The Pratt & Whitney Company was founded in Hartford in 1860 by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney. They built a large factory where the company manufactured a wide range of machine tools, including tools for sewing machine makers and gun-making machinery used by the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1925, the company expanded into aircraft engine design at its Hartford factory.

Just three years after Colt’s first factory opened, the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company set up shop in 1852 at a nearby site along the now-buried Park River, in the present-day neighborhood of Frog Hollow. Their factory marked the beginning of the area’s transformation from marshy farmland into a major industrial zone. The road leading to the factory was called Rifle Lane; it was later renamed College Street and then Capitol Avenue. A century earlier, mills had been built along the Park River because of the water power, but by the 1850s, water power was becoming outdated. Sharps chose the location to take advantage of the railroad line built alongside the river in 1838.

The Sharps Rifle Company failed in 1870, and the Weed Sewing Machine Company took over its factory. The invention of a new type of sewing machine led to new applications of mass production after the principles of interchangeability were used for clocks and guns. The Weed Company played a major role in making Hartford one of three machine tool centers in New England and even grew larger than the Colt Armory in nearby Coltsville. Weed eventually became the birthplace of both the bicycle and automobile industries in Hartford.

Industrialist Albert Pope was inspired by a British-made, high-wheeled bicycle (called a velocipede) he saw at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. He bought the patent rights for bicycle production in the United States. He wanted to contract out his first order, so he approached George Fairfield of the Weed Sewing Machine Company, who produced Pope’s first run of bicycles in 1878. Bicycles became a huge commercial success, and production expanded in the Weed factory, with Weed making every part except the tires. Demand for bicycles eventually overshadowed the failing sewing machine market.

Geography

The United States Census Bureau reports that the city has a total area of 18.0 square miles (47 km²), of which 17.3 square miles (45 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (3.67%) is water.

The city of Hartford is bordered by the towns of West Hartford, Newington, Wethersfield, East Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor, Glastonbury, and Windsor. The Connecticut River forms the boundary between Hartford and East Hartford and is located on the east side of the city.

The Park River once divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was an important part of Bushnell Park. However, flood control projects in the 1940s covered and buried most of the river. The former path of the river can still be seen in some roadways, such as Jewell Street and the Conlin-Whitehead Highway.

The Köppen climate classification categorizes Hartford as hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), bordering on humid subtropical (Cfa). Winters are moderately cold, with periods of snow, while summers are hot and humid. Spring and fall are transition seasons, with weather ranging from warm to cool. Hartford lies in USDA Hardiness zone 6b-7a.

From April through October, temperatures in Hartford are warm to hot, with the hottest months being June, July, and August. In summer, high humidity and occasional brief thunderstorms are common. From November through March, temperatures are cool to cold, with the coldest months being December, January, and February. During these months, average high temperatures range from 35 to 38 °F (2 to 3 °C), and overnight lows range from 18 to 23 °F (−8 to −5 °C).

The average annual precipitation is about 47.05 inches (1,200 mm), distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Hartford typically receives about 51.7 inches (131 cm) of snow in an average winter, which is about 40% more than coastal Connecticut cities like New Haven, Stamford, and New London. Seasonal snowfall has ranged from 115.2 inches (293 cm) during the winter of 1995–96 to 13.5 inches (34 cm) in 1999–2000. In summer, temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 17 days per year. In winter, overnight temperatures can dip to a range of 5 to −5 °F (−15 to −21 °C) on at least one night a year. Tropical storms and hurricanes have also affected Hartford, though such events are rare and usually involve only remnants of these systems. Hartford suffered extensive damage from the 1938 New England Hurricane and Hurricane Irene in 2011. The highest officially recorded temperature is 103 °F (39 °C) on July 22, 2011, and the lowest is −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 22, 1961. The record cold daily maximum is −2 °F (−19 °C) on December 2, 1917, and the record warm daily minimum is 80 °F (27 °C) on July 31, 1917.

The central business district, along with the State Capitol, Old State House, and many museums and shops, is located Downtown. Parkville, home to Real Art Ways, is named for the meeting point of the north and south branches of the Park River. Frog Hollow, near Downtown, includes Pope Park and Trinity College, one of the nation’s oldest colleges. Asylum Hill, a mix of residential and commercial areas, is home to the headquarters of several insurance companies and historic homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The West End, where the governor’s residence is located, includes Elizabeth Park and the University of Connecticut School of Law, and is near the Hartford Golf Club. Sheldon Charter Oak is known for the Charter Oak and its monument, as well as the former Colt headquarters and Samuel Colt’s family estate, Armsmear. The North East neighborhood includes Keney Park and many of the city’s oldest and most ornate homes. The South End features "Little Italy" and was once home to Hartford’s large Italian community. South Green hosts Hartford Hospital. The South Meadows is where Hartford–Brainard Airport and Hartford’s industrial area are located. The North Meadows includes retail strips, car dealerships, and the Comcast Theatre. Blue Hills is home to the University of Hartford and has the largest number of residents claiming Jamaican-American heritage per capita in the United States. Other neighborhoods in Hartford include Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Clay Arsenal, South West, and Upper Albany, which has many Caribbean restaurants and specialty stores.

Demographics

In 2010, the United States census showed there were 124,775 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families living in the city. By 2019, the American Community Survey estimated the population had grown to 123,088. The 2020 United States census recorded a population of 121,054.

In 2019, the city’s racial and ethnic makeup included 36.0% White, 42.7% Black or African American, 23.7% some other race, 3.4% Asian, 1.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders. About 43.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, mostly of Puerto Rican origin. In 2010, non-Hispanic Whites made up 15.8% of the population.

The city’s Hispanic and Latino population included 33.63% Puerto Ricans, 3.0% Dominicans, 1.6% Mexicans, 0.4% Cubans, and 5.63% from other Hispanic or Latino backgrounds. These groups were mostly found on the city’s south side, while African Americans were mainly in the north. Non-Hispanic Whites were the majority in only two areas: downtown and the far northwest. However, parts of the city, such as Asylum Hill and West End, had many White residents. In 2019, more than three-quarters (77%) of the Hispanic population were Puerto Rican, with over half born in Puerto Rico. About 33.7% of all residents claimed Puerto Rican heritage, making Hartford the second-largest Puerto Rican community in the Northeast, after Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Smaller groups included people from Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Among non-Hispanic residents, the largest ancestry group was from Jamaica. In 2014, about 11,400 Jamaican Americans and 1,200 West Indian Americans lived in Hartford.

In 2010, there were 44,986 households. Of these, 34.4% had children under 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples, 29.6% had a female householder without a husband, and 39.6% were non-families. About 33.2% of households had only one person, and 9.6% had someone 65 or older living alone. The average household size was 2.58, and the average family size was 3.33.

The city’s population included 30.1% under 18, 12.6% aged 18 to 24, 29.8% aged 25 to 44, 18.0% aged 45 to 64, and 9.5% aged 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 86.0 males.

In 2010, the median household income was $20,820, and the median family income was $22,051. Males earned a median income of $28,444, while females earned $26,131. The city’s per capita income was $13,428.

Economy

Hartford is a center for medical care, research, and education. Hospitals in Hartford include Hartford Hospital, The Institute of Living, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center, which merged with Mount Sinai Hospital in 1990.

Hartford is also historically known as a major center for the insurance industry. Companies such as Aetna, Conning & Company, The Hartford, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, The Phoenix Companies, and Hartford Steam Boiler are based in the city. Other companies, including Prudential Financial, Lincoln National Corporation, Sun Life Financial, Travelers, United Healthcare, and Axa XL, have major operations in Hartford. Aetna moved its headquarters to New York City in July 2017 but later agreed to keep it in Hartford for at least four years after CVS acquired Aetna. The city is also home to the corporate headquarters of CareCentrix, Choice Merchant Solutions, Global Atlantic Financial Group, Hartford Healthcare, Insurity, LAZ Parking, ProPark Mobility, U.S. Fire Arms, and Virtus Investment Partners.

In 2008, Sovereign Bank combined two bank branches and its regional headquarters in a historic building on Asylum Street. Bank of America and People's United Financial have major corporate operations in Hartford. In 2009, Northeast Utilities, a Fortune 500 company and New England’s largest energy utility, announced it would move its corporate headquarters to downtown Hartford.

Hartford is becoming a growing technology hub. In March 2018, Infosys announced plans to open a new technology innovation hub in Hartford, which could create up to 1,000 jobs by 2022. This hub will focus on insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Other technology companies in Hartford include CGI Inc., Covr Financial Technologies, GalaxE. Solutions, HCL Technologies, and Larsen & Toubro. Insurity, a company that provides insurance software, is also headquartered in Hartford.

Local unemployment in Hartford is higher than in other cities, the state, and the U.S. In the fall of 2018, Hartford’s unemployment rate was 7.5%, the highest among Connecticut’s four major cities (Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford). Connecticut’s overall unemployment rate remained above 5% during this time, while the national unemployment rate was slightly below 4%.

Arts and culture

The first American cookbook was American Cookery, The Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry, and Vegetables, written by Amelia Simmons. It was published in Hartford by Hudson & Goodwin in 1796. This book was the first to include recipes for squash and cornmeal, and it had the first published recipe for pumpkin pie. It also taught people how to make bread rise using a special powder called pearl ash. The full text of the book can be read online.

Hartford’s food traditions were shaped by early settlers from the Netherlands and England, who combined their cooking styles with those of the Saukiog Native Americans in the area. In the early 1900s, many people from Poland moved to Hartford, and many Polish restaurants still operate today. Italian food was not always popular; one restaurant owner remembered that in 1938, no one would put an Italian name on a restaurant sign because people thought it would be connected to the Mafia. In 1979, The New York Times wrote that Hartford had many different kinds of food available because of its changing population.

Hartford has been called a "foodie destination" by Food and Wine. Food trucks in the city are only allowed to operate in certain areas, such as near Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford and at farmers’ markets. Today, people in Hartford can find food from many different cultures throughout the city.

Hartford has several seasonal farmers’ markets. The Hartford Regional Market is the largest between New York City and Boston. In 2018, the Connecticut State Assembly decided to move ownership of the market to a new group, which made its future uncertain.

The ocean is less than 35 miles (56 kilometers) away from Hartford and has influenced the city’s food choices. Recently, more sea plants and animals have been grown in Long Island Sound, and local kelp now appears on menus. The Connecticut River Valley is the most productive farming area in New England, and the nearby town of Wethersfield is famous for its red onions, which once had a strong smell that could be smelled in Hartford during their peak in the early 1800s.

Hartford and its surrounding areas have many businesses that make beer, cider, and spirits. In 2017, there were more than 20 breweries and distilleries in the area. The Connecticut Spirits Trail includes stops in Hartford and nearby towns. These businesses support the city’s many bars and nightclubs.

Landmarks in Hartford:
– Aetna Building – The Aetna Building on Farmington Avenue is the largest building in the United States designed in the Colonial Revival style. It has a tall tower inspired by the Old State House downtown.
– Ancient Burying Ground – This is the oldest historic site in Hartford and the city’s first graveyard. Many important people from Hartford are buried there.
– Armsmear – The home of the Colt family.
– Bulkeley Bridge – A stone-arch bridge that connects Hartford with East Hartford over the Connecticut River.
– Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts – Built in the 1930s by the same architects who designed New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. It has a Georgian Revival exterior and an Art Deco interior with a large painted mural on the ceiling.
– Bushnell Park – Located below the State Capitol, this park has lawns, fountains, and a historic carousel. It was the first park in the United States bought by a city for public use. The Soldiers & Sailors Civil War Memorial Arch at the park’s entrance is the first triumphal arch in the United States.
– Cathedral of St. Joseph – A 281-foot (86-meter) Roman Catholic church built in 1961. It has large stained glass windows and the largest ceramic tile mural of Christ in the world.
– Center Church – Founded by Thomas Hooker, this church is also known as Center Church.
– Cheney Building – Designed by H. H. Richardson in the late 1800s. It once housed a department store on Main Street.
– Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House – Built by Elizabeth Jarvis Colt to honor her husband and son. Both buildings are part of the Coltsville Historic District.
– City Place I – The tallest building in Connecticut, with 38 floors on Asylum Street.
– Colt Armory – Once the main factory of Colt’s Manufacturing Company, this building is now being turned into apartments and offices.
– Xfinity Theater – An outdoor amphitheater in the North Meadows.
– Connecticut Science Center – A nine-story museum opened in 2009. It was designed by César Pelli.
– Connecticut State Library – Located near the State Capitol, it also has a museum about Samuel Colt.
– Connecticut Convention Center – A large building with a hotel and event space. It hosts a summer event called ConnectiCon.
– Connecticut Governor’s Mansion – A large Georgian-style house near the top of Prospect Avenue.
– Connecticut Opera – Founded in 1942, it performs operas at The Bushnell Center.
– Connecticut State Capitol – A large building on Bushnell Park with a gold-leafed dome and many statues.
– Constitution Plaza – A redevelopment project built in the 1960s that replaced the historic Front Street neighborhood.
– Dunkin’ Donuts Park – A baseball stadium that opened in 2017 for the Hartford Yard Goats.
– Elizabeth Park & Rose Garden – A park shared by Hartford and West Hartford.
– Harriet Beecher Stowe House & Research Center – The home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, now a museum.
– The Hartford Financial Services Group headquarters – Located on Asylum Hill, it was once the site of a school for the deaf.
– Hartford Public Library – Founded in 1774, it has over 500,000 items and offers free computers and Wi-Fi.
– Hartford Stage – A theater company that has won Tony Awards and performed on Broadway.
– Hartford Symphony Orchestra – Connecticut’s regional orchestra.
– The Hartt School – A top music and performing arts school at the University of Hartford.

Sports

The Hartford Wolf Pack, a team in the American Hockey League, plays ice hockey games at the PeoplesBank Arena in downtown Hartford. The same arena also hosts important games for the men's and women's basketball teams of the UConn Huskies. Other UConn home games take place at Gampel Pavilion, which is located on the university's main campus in Storrs, Connecticut. Additionally, all UConn Men's Ice Hockey home games are held at the PeoplesBank Arena.

The Hartford Yard Goats, a Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, moved from New Britain to Hartford in 2017. The team now plays its games at Dunkin' Donuts Park.

Hartford is home to a USL Championship team called Hartford Athletic, which was established in 2019 and plays its games at the 5,500-seat Trinity Health Stadium. The city also hosts another semi-professional soccer team, Hartford City FC, which is part of the NPSL and plays at the same stadium.

In 1975, Hartford became the home of the WHA's New England Whalers after the team moved from Boston. This team was one of four WHA teams that joined the NHL in 1979. The city was then home to the NHL's Hartford Whalers from 1979 until 1997, when the team moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and became the Carolina Hurricanes.

From 1975 to 1995, the Boston Celtics played different numbers of home games each year in Hartford before opening the new TD Garden.

Hartford was also home to the Hartford Hellions, a team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).

The city once had a National League baseball team called the Hartford Dark Blues in the 1870s and an NFL team called the Hartford Blues for three seasons in the 1920s.

Hartford briefly had a team in the UFL named the Hartford Colonials, but games were played at Rentschler Field in neighboring East Hartford.

From 2000 to 2006, Hartford was home to the Hartford FoxForce of World TeamTennis.

Government

Hartford, like all cities in Connecticut except Groton, is a combined city and town. Since 1896, the city and town have been legally merged, though the city’s boundaries have always matched the town’s since 1784.

Hartford is governed by a strong mayor-council system. The current mayor is Arunan Arulampalam. In 2003, voters approved returning to a mayor-council system, more than 50 years after switching to a council-manager form. Mayor Eddie Perez was first elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2003 with 76% of the vote. As the first strong mayor under the revised charter, he is credited with reducing crime, improving schools, and helping the economy grow. However, his reputation suffered due to corruption accusations. The city council, officially called the "Court of Common Council," has nine members.

In Connecticut, there is no county-level government. The state ended county government in 1960, and now counties only serve as boundaries for state courts. Local services like fire and rescue, education, and snow removal are managed by municipalities.

In 2008, Hartford passed an ordinance requiring services for all residents, regardless of immigration status. The law also stops police from detaining people or asking about their immigration status. In 2016, the law was updated to label Hartford a "sanctuary city," though the term has no legal definition.

Hartford is a city that mostly supports the Democratic Party. It has voted for every Democratic presidential candidate since 1928. In 2016, 90% of voters chose Clinton, compared to 8% for the other candidate, a small change from 2012 when Obama won 93% to 6%. In 2020, Joe Biden won 87% of the vote, compared to 13% for the other candidate.

Education

Hartford is served by the Hartford Public Schools. Hartford Public High School, the nation's second-oldest high school, is located in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford. The city also has Bulkeley High School on Wethersfield Avenue, Global Communications Academy on Greenfield Avenue, Weaver High School on Granby Street, and Sport Medical and Sciences Academy on Huyshope Avenue. In addition, Hartford includes The Learning Corridor, which has the Montessori Magnet School, Hartford Magnet Middle School, Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science, and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. One of the technical high schools in the Connecticut Technical High School System, A.I. Prince Technical High School, is also located in the city. The Classical Magnet School is one of the many magnet schools in Hartford. Hartford also has Watkinson School, a private coeducational day school, and Grace S. Webb School, a special education school. Catholic schools in the city are managed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.

In 2013, the city's high school graduation rate reached 71 percent, according to the state Department of Education.

Hartford has several post-secondary institutions, including Trinity College, Capital Community College, the University of Connecticut's Hartford campus, the University of Connecticut School of Business, the Hartford Seminary, the University of Connecticut School of Law, and Rensselaer at Hartford (a branch of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). University of Saint Joseph opened its school of pharmacy in the downtown area in 2011.

The University of Hartford's cultural institutions include the Joseloff Gallery, the Renee Samuels Center, and the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center. The "U of H" campus is located in the city's Blue Hills neighborhood and in neighboring towns West Hartford and Bloomfield.

Media

The Hartford Courant is the oldest newspaper in the United States that has been published every day without stopping. It was started in 1764. Another newspaper, the Hartford Advocate, is published weekly and is owned by the same company as the Courant. It also serves Hartford and nearby areas, along with the Hartford Business Journal, called "Greater Hartford's Business Weekly," and the weekly Hartford News.

The Hartford area is also covered by several magazines. These include Hartford Magazine, a monthly lifestyle magazine for Greater Hartford; CT Cottages & Gardens; Connecticut Business, a colorful monthly magazine for all of Connecticut; and Home Living CT, a home and garden magazine published five times a year and sent to people across the state.

Many radio stations are based in Hartford, including WDRC (AM), WDRC (FM), WHCN (FM), WJMJ (FM), WPOP (AM), WTIC (AM), WTIC (FM), and WPKT (FM, NPR).

Hartford has several major television stations, such as WFSB 3 (CBS), WTNH 8 (ABC), WUVN 18 (Univision), WRDM-CD 19 (Telemundo O&O), WCCT-TV 20 (The CW), WHPX-TV (Ion Television O&O), WVIT 30 (NBC O&O), WHCT-LD 35 (MeTV O&O), WCTX 59 (MyNetworkTV), and WTIC-TV 61 (Fox). PBS stations in the area include WEDH 24 and WEDY 65, both part of the Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) network. These stations serve the Hartford/New Haven market, which was the 33rd largest media market in the United States in 2020.

• Must Read After My Death, a 2009 documentary film

Infrastructure

Interstate 84 (I-84) connects Scranton to I-90 near Sturbridge, just across the Massachusetts border. Interstate 91 (I-91) runs from New Haven along the Connecticut River to Canada. These two highways cross in downtown Hartford. Other highways serving the city include Route 2, an expressway that links downtown Hartford to Westerly, passing through Norwich and near Foxwoods Resort Casino. A section of Route 15, called the Wilbur Cross Highway, runs along the southeastern edge of the city near Brainard Airport. A short highway called the Conlin–Whitehead Highway connects I-91 directly to the Capitol Area in downtown Hartford. The Main Street Bridge is a historic structure on this highway.

Hartford has heavy traffic because it has a large suburban population, nearly 10 times the size of the city itself. Thousands of people travel on highways during work hours. I-84 often has traffic from Farmington through Hartford to East Hartford and Manchester during rush hours.

Several major roads also run through the city. Albany Avenue (Route 44) travels west through West Hartford to Farmington Valley and northern Litchfield County, and east toward Putnam and Rhode Island. Blue Hills Avenue (Route 187) runs north from Albany Avenue toward Bloomfield and East Granby. Main Street (Route 159) goes north through Windsor to the western suburbs of Springfield, Massachusetts. Wethersfield Avenue (Route 99) heads south through Wethersfield to Middletown. Maple Avenue travels south-southwest, becoming the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield and Newington. Farmington Avenue goes west through West Hartford Center and Farmington to Torrington.

A major project is planned to rebuild the I-84 viaduct that crosses the city and to move I-91 away from the Connecticut River.

Hartford Union Station, built in 1889, serves as a transportation hub. Amtrak offers train service from Hartford to Vermont via Springfield and to New Haven. The station also connects to bus companies and the Hartford Line, a commuter rail service between New Haven and Springfield. The Hartford Line uses Amtrak-owned tracks and allows passengers to ride most Amtrak trains in the area with the same ticket. This service began on June 16, 2018.

Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, has over 150 daily flights to more than 30 destinations on nine airlines, including four international flights. Connecticut Transit provides bus service between Bradley Airport and downtown Hartford. Other airports serving the Hartford area include:
– Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD), located in Hartford near I-91 and Wethersfield, for charter and general aviation flights.
– Westover Metropolitan Airport (CEF), in Chicopee, Massachusetts, 27 miles north of Hartford, for charter and military flights.
– Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston, offering 139 destinations and serving as the closest international option for Hartford.
– Tweed New Haven Regional Airport (HVN) in New Haven, served by Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways.

Connecticut Transit (CTtransit), owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, operates local and commuter buses in Hartford and surrounding areas. The Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) is a free bus route that circulates through downtown. All city buses have bike racks.

In March 2015, CTfastrak, Connecticut’s first bus rapid transit system, opened. It connects Hartford and New Britain with a dedicated busway and 10 stations. The system also includes a downtown loop near Union Station and other landmarks. Features include high-level platforms, on-board Wi-Fi, ticket machines, and real-time arrival information.

Interstate bus services include Peter Pan Bus, Greyhound Bus, and Megabus. Chinatown bus lines offer low-cost trips between Hartford and New York or Boston. Buses also connect to smaller cities in the state. The main bus station is at Hartford Union Station, serving Peter Pan and Greyhound. Megabus stops are at Columbus Boulevard and Talcott Street.

A bicycle route runs through the center of Hartford, part of the East Coast Greenway (ECG), a 3,000-mile path from Maine to Florida. The Hartford section passes through Bushnell Park. Designated bike lanes are on Capitol Avenue, Zion Street, Scarborough Street, Whitney, and South Whitney.

The Hartford Fire Department is the fifth-largest in Connecticut, operating from 12 fire stations. Three stations are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Engine 1 and Engine 15 are still active. Engine 6’s former station, closed in 1984, is now a homeless shelter.

The Hartford Police Department was founded in 1860, though law enforcement in the area dates back to 1636.

Hartford uses private companies for ambulance services, including Aetna Ambulance in the South End and American Medical Response in the North End.

Notable people

Hartford has been the home of many important people in history, such as Noah Webster, who wrote a dictionary (1758–1843); Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who helped create American Sign Language (1787–1851); Sam Colt, who invented the .45 Colt (1814–1862); Edward Miner Gallaudet, who founded Gallaudet University (1837–1917); and J.P. Morgan, a business leader (1837–1913).

Many artists are from Hartford. After the U.S. Civil War, a place called Nook Farm attracted many writers and people connected to writing. For example, Mark Twain (1835–1910) moved there in 1874. His neighbor at Nook Farm was Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896), and other Beecher sisters, including Catharine Beecher, an educator and publisher, and Isabella Beecher Hooker, a thinker about women's rights, also lived there. Poet Lydia Sigourney (1791–1865) was called "The Sweet singer of Hartford." Poet Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) worked as an insurance executive in Hartford. World War II journalist Lyn Crost (1915–1997) lived in Hartford. More recently, Dominick Dunne (1925–2009), John Gregory Dunne (1932–2003), and Suzanne Collins (born 1962) also lived in Hartford.

Laura Wheeler Waring, an artist from the Harlem Renaissance, was born and raised in Hartford.

Actors and others in the entertainment industry from Hartford include Katharine Hepburn, Thomas Ian Griffith, Gary Merrill, Linda Evans, Eriq La Salle, Diane Venora, William Gillette, Grace Carney, and Charles Nelson Reilly. TV producer and writer Norman Lear is also from Hartford. Television show director Paul Stanley was born in Hartford. Marvel Comics artist George Tuska grew up in Hartford. In the TV show Gilmore Girls, the fictional characters Richard and Emily Gilmore are said to live in Hartford.

In music, people from Hartford include singer Sophie Tucker (1884–1966), known as "the last of the red-hot mamas." Others include:

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Gene Pitney and Mike Carabello (of Santana)
• Mark McGrath
• Bass guitarist Doug Wimbish of Living Colour
• Cindy Blackman, a drummer for Lenny Kravitz and wife of Carlos Santana
• Jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean
• Violinist Elmar Oliveira (born 1950)
• Brothers Jeff Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, and Steve Porcaro (of the group Toto)

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), called the father of landscape architecture, was born in Hartford. He designed New York's Central Park, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and Asheville's Biltmore Estate. He also worked on projects like Buffalo's first public park system, Niagara Reservation in New York, Riverside, Illinois, Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Boston's Emerald Necklace, Rochester's Highland Park, Detroit's Belle Isle Park, Milwaukee's Grand Necklace of Parks, and Louisville's Cherokee Park and parkway system. His nephew, Frederick E. Olmsted (1872–1925), helped create the National Forest system in the United States.

Barbara McClintock (1902–1992), a scientist who studied how genes work, was born in Hartford. She won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how genes can move within cells. She is the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in the Medicine category without sharing it with others.

Alexander Rich (1924–2015), a scientist who studied biology and physics, was born in Hartford.

Former Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini is from Hartford. Former NHL player Craig Janney and current player Nick Bonino were born in Hartford. Other athletes include NBA players Marcus Camby, Rick Mahorn, Johnny Egan, and Michael Adams, as well as NFL kicker John Carney, Dwight Freeney, Tebucky Jones, and Eugene Robinson.

Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, mother of President Theodore Roosevelt and grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt, was born in Hartford on July 8, 1835.

Recent developments

• Adriaen's Landing – This project, funded by the state and private groups, is located along the Connecticut River near Columbus Boulevard and connects to Constitution Plaza. Constitution Plaza required many families to move when it was built years ago. The newest part of the project includes the 540,000-square-foot (50,000 m ) Connecticut Convention Center, which opened in June 2005 and is the largest meeting space between New York City and Boston. Next to the Convention Center is the 22-story, 409-room Marriott Hartford Hotel-Downtown, which opened in August 2005. The Connecticut Science Center, which is 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m ), is being built near the Convention Center and hotel.

• Capital Community College at the 11-story G. Fox Department Store Building – The 913,000-square-foot (84,800 m ) former G. Fox & Company Department Store on Main Street has been rebuilt and now houses Capital Community College, offices for the State of Connecticut, and retail spaces on the ground floor. Capital Community College trains adult students in specific job areas. Vendors sell crafts on Main Street every Thursday. Two music clubs, Mezzanine and Room 960, are located in the building.

• CTfastrak – This new bus rapid transit system links Hartford's Union Station to downtown New Britain. It was built to reduce traffic on I-84.

• Front Street – The last part of Adriaen's Landing, Front Street, is across from the Convention Center and covers the area between Columbus Boulevard and The Hartford Times Building. Front Street includes retail, entertainment, and housing. Publicly funded parts of the project will improve transportation. The project has faced delays, and the first developer was removed due to slow progress. A new developer has been chosen, but work on the retail and housing areas has not started. The city and state may take steps to speed up the project. There are plans to bring an ESPN Zone to Front Street (ESPN is based in nearby Bristol). The historic Beaux-Arts Hartford Times Building on the back side of Front Street is being turned into a downtown campus for the University of Connecticut.

• Hartford Line – According to Connecticut Governor Malloy, the Hartford Line commuter rail will travel up to 110 mph (177 km/h). The rail line is designed to connect the busy area between Hartford, Springfield, and New Haven; reduce traffic on Interstate 91; and help people move around more easily in an area that relies mostly on cars. As of May 2011, Connecticut's part of the rail line was three-quarters funded. The state is now seeking $227 million from $2.4 billion in federal funds that Florida did not use for its own high-speed rail project to finish the northern part of the line.

• Knowledge Corridor Partnership – In 2000, at The Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts (two major cities in the Connecticut River Valley that are 24 miles or 39 kilometers apart) announced the Knowledge Corridor Partnership together. The partnership aims to connect the two cities economically, culturally, and geographically. The name comes from the region's more than 32 universities and liberal arts colleges, including several top schools in the United States. By the 10th anniversary of the Knowledge Corridor, it was announced that the partnership is beginning to receive federal funds instead of state or city funds.

Sister cities

Hartford's sister cities are:

• Caguas, Puerto Rico
• Dongguan, China
• Floridia, Italy
• Huế, Vietnam
• Morant Bay, Jamaica
• New Ross, Ireland
• Ocotal, Nicaragua
• Sogakope, Ghana
• Thessaloniki, Greece
• Hertford, England