You forgot another hellhole: Waterbury. That said, the middle class is pulling stakes faster than those in Fairfield County. A nurse or a machinist can still make a good wage in South Carolina without the high taxes and crumbling infrastructure wrecking their cars on the way to work in New Haven or Hartford. The Greenwich hedge fund manager, who likely rides a train into that essential hub of Manhattan, cannot.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Waterbury. My Dad,my Hero,did lots of business with Timex in the 50's and 60's.Waterbury is only about a 2.5 hour drive from where we lived and I still remember him telling my mother "I'm on my way to Waterbury.I'll probably be late".