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Connecticut
A compact New England state on Long Island Sound
Connecticut is small, southern New England — the third-smallest state at 5,543 square miles (14,357 km²), yet one of the most densely settled. Its southern edge fronts Long Island Sound, a sheltered arm of the Atlantic lined with harbors and old shipbuilding towns. Inland, the broad Connecticut River valley splits the state down the middle, flanked by low wooded hills, stone-walled farmland, and the rolling uplands that rise gently toward Massachusetts. Nowhere is far from somewhere else.
The Connecticut River, New England's longest, gives the state both its name and its central seam, running 410 miles from the Canadian border to the Sound. The terrain is gentle — the highest point sits on the south slope of Mount Frissell at 2,379 feet (725 m), with the actual summit just over the line in Massachusetts. Wedged between New York City and Boston, Connecticut blends dense commuter suburbs in its southwest with quiet colonial towns and woodland across its eastern hills.
Economy
Connecticut has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the country, built on finance and insurance - Hartford is a historic insurance capital, and the southwestern corner is a major hedge-fund center in the New York orbit - and on advanced aerospace and defense manufacturing, including Pratt and Whitney jet engines and Electric Boat submarines.
Politics
Connecticut carries 7 electoral votes and votes reliably Democratic in presidential elections, reflecting its wealthy, densely populated, and suburban character in the New York metropolitan orbit.