Located 3 miles east of New Haven, Connecticut it is part of the New Haven, Connecticut Metropolitan (NECTA) area. This area comprises 22 towns and cities with a 2000 census population of 571,310 people.
* land sold to New Haven [1]
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,189 people, 11,219 households, and 7,494 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,298.4 people per square mile (887.8/km²). There were 11,698 housing units at an average density of 953.8/sq mi (368.4/km²).
The total gender makeup of the town is 14,094 (47.9%) male and 15,324 (52.1%) female. Age distribution of the estimate 2007 population of the town is as follows:
The racial makeup of the town is 26,983 91.72% White, followed by 1,671 5.68% Hispanic or Latino, 751 2.55% African American, 835 2.84% Asian, 820 2.79% from other races and 29 0.01% Native American.
Italian ancestry make up 50.5% of the population of East Haven, giving the town one of the highest percentages of Italians in the country, followed by 18.8% Irish, 8.0% Polish, 8.0% German, 6.6% English and 3.4% French. 7.1% of the population of East Haven is foreign born.
There were 11,583 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals (single person) and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.08.
The median age of a house is 40.5 years. The median house purchase price is $123,100.00 and median monthly rental is $1,001.00.
The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.
The town is primarily considered a Democratic town, though it has elected a Republican mayor in the last 5 of 6 elections. There are 15,925 registered voters in East Haven. 5,683 registered Democrats, 2,544 Republicans, 7,681 unaffiliated and 17 registered to minor parties.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,887. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
78.1% of the adult population (25 years and old) have a high school degree or higher. 22% have some college education and 17.1% of the same population has a bachelor’s degree or higher.
1.85% of the population work at home. 1.81% of the population use mass transportation, 9.46% car pool and 84.93% drive alone.
East Haven has an unemployment rate of 4.1%
East Haven is served by Tweed-New Haven Airport, which is located on the border between East Haven and New Haven, Connecticut.
Though East Haven does not have a train station, there are two stations within close driving distance. Union Station is located three miles from the center of town in New Haven, Connecticut and a commuter station is located equal distance in Branford, Connecticut. Both are serviced by commuter railroad services to New York and other coastal Connecticut towns, and New Haven's Union Station has Amtrak train service to Boston and many other cities.
Interstate 95 runs from east to west through the “Central” portion of East Haven. Interstate 91, which is located west of the town does connect with State Route 80 which intersects the town in Foxon, running east to west. State Route 100 connects Foxon with the “Center” of town, running north to south. U.S. 1 intersects the town through the “Center”, paralleling Interstate 95.
The Connecticut Transit Bus Company, a state run mass transportation system services the town
Water supply is provided by the Regional Water Authority. Lake Saltonstall, located on the border between East Haven and Branford, Connecticut provides drinking water to the south section of East Haven as well as being a recreational facility for hiking and fishing. The northern section is served by Lake Guillard in North Branford, Connecticut. The New Haven Regional Water Pollution Control Authority is responsible for sewage-disposal services with facilities located in New Haven, Connecticut
United Illuminating is the exclusive distributor of electric power to the town. Natural gas is distributed by the Southern Connecticut Gas Company with several sections being served by local propane distribution companies. AT&T is the primary wired telephone service provider for the area. Phone service is also available from various national wireless companies and the local cable television provider. Cable television is available from Comcast. Satellite television is available from AT&T (Dish Network) and DirecTV.
East Haven is known for its Italian-American ethnic heritage.
The town of East Haven has a notable mention in the film Ocean's Twelve at the beginning. This is the town in which George Clooney's and Julia Roberts's characters are hiding after the heist from the Ocean's Eleven (2001) remake.