New Haven Fun Facts: Hometown surprises
Think you really know New Haven? It's a city that birthed the hamburger (Louis' Lunch), perfected pizza so good it could start a mozzarella uprising, and has gargoyles that hold ivy league degrees. Let's run through the facts, stats, and apizza grudges that showcase what makes New Haven's swagger.
Lynn, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Lynn has lived in Connecticut almost her entire life, and knows the difference between shoreline charm and quiet river towns. She's sampled pizza and donuts all over the state visiting all 169 Connecticut towns. Her most memorable (and probably last ever) move involved the trifecta of a hurricane, loss of power, and an August heatwave (so don't even get me started on moving horror stories!). She knits, bakes, metal detects beaches, and firmly believes New Haven pizza is a food group of its own. At Snappy Scout Lynn turns decades of CT discoveries into sage moving advice you'll enjoy reading and actually use.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Makes New Haven New Haven?
The weird, useful, and surprisingly relevant facts that shape everyday life here.
Common nicknames for New Haven
The Elm City, NHV.
Local Reality Check
Just Yale? Think again! Bustling neighborhoods, apizza wars, shoreline parks, and growing biotech.
You're most likely moving from
Brooklyn, Queens, Boston exiles, and Fairfield County commuters seeking pizza and trains.
Strangely large concentration of
Coal fired apizza ovens along Wooster Street and beyond.
Music scene
Toad's Place legends, College Street Music Hall headliners, Firehouse 12 jazz, Cafe Nine grit.
You'll have to see it to believe it
Beinecke Library's glowing marble walls and a Gutenberg Bible.
Unique Geography
Nine square colonial grid, huge Green, harbor views, East Rock and West Rock.
New Haven is home to
Yale University, Peabody Museum dinosaurs, and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Well known for its
White clam apizza, Gothic spires, and ambitious biotech startups.
Fun history fact
Louis' Lunch invented the hamburger sandwich in 1900, served on toast.
Celebrity sightings
Actors visit their children at Yale; former politicians attend the big Yale-Harvard game.
Noteworthy Census stat
About three quarters of households are renter-occupied.
Most interesting sub-culture within New Haven
Pizza nerds running blind taste tests with spreadsheets and scorched palates.
Population
3rd largest city in CT, top 200 largest nationwide.
New Haven is roughly the same geographic size as
Providence, Rhode Island.
A Local Event Worth Experiencing Once
The annual Puerto Rican Festival of New Haven is an event that brings the area together, celebrating the Puerto Rican culture. There are dance parties, parades, delicious food, and more.
— Lynn Nelthropp
Connecticut Local Expert
Ready to See If New Haven Fits You?
Compare cities, check the routes, or head back to the full New Haven guide for the bigger picture.