Fairfield County May Hold Key to Trans-Atlantic Flights at Bradley; Passenger Numbers Increasing

Bradley International Airport has seen passenger traffic increase for two consecutive months, and is stepping up efforts to re-establish service to trans-Atlantic destinations. The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) is working with the state’s business community and potential airline carriers to demonstrate the need for the overseas service. In May, passenger traffic at Bradley increased 9 percent, compared with a 7.8 percent decrease at T.F. Green Airport in Providence and a 9.5 percent decrease at Manchester Regional Airport in New Hampshire. Logan International Airport in Boston increased 7.5 percent that month.

During June, Bradley saw a 9.3 percent increase in passengers, while Providence saw a 7.3 percent decrease and Manchester saw passenger numbers drop by 14.6 percent. Logan experienced a 4.1 percent increase in June.  July data was not yet available.

Kevin A. Dillon, Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, told members of the CAA at their August meeting that the state’s improved economy and ongoing efforts to add capacity at the airport are lead factors in the upbeat numbers. United Airlines recently announced plans to begin service to Houston in October. In June, JetBlue initiated service from Bradley to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

Year to date, Dillon reported, passenger numbers at Bradley are up 10.6 percent, while Providence is down 6.8 percent, Manchester is down 13.0 percent, and Logan is up slightly, 4.4 percent.

The return of trans-Atlantic service to Bradley is one of the CAA’s top priorities, Dillon said. Much of the business case for trans-Atlantic routes depends on corporate clients outside the immediate Hartford-Springfield market, Dillon explained. He indicated that the CAA would be “orienting our advertising program for the next year” toward Fairfield County and Southeastern Connecticut, to include targeted outreach urging potential business customers to “give Bradley a try,” underscoring that “Bradley is a great option” compared with the New York airports.

The CAA is also poised to move forward with the demolition of the old Terminal B at Bradley, with the contract awarded to S&R Corporation of Lowell MA, with a price tag of $12, 572,622.75. The CAA anticipates that the demolition will begin before the end of this month, consistent with the airport’s strategic plan. The goal of the CAA is to make Connecticut’s airports more attractive to new airlines, bring in new routes, and support Connecticut’s overall economic development and growth strategy.

Members of the CAA also discussed a potential new retail business for the airport – Dairy Queen – and approved plans for a 20-year agreement with WFSB-TV for the lease of land at Bradley for a Doppler radar installation at Bradley, which would be relocated from Terminal B where it has been since 1999.

Bradley will also be enhancing band-with capacity of wi-fi at the airport, which has seen increased usage as passenger levels have increased.

Bradley International Airport is the second largest airport in New England. According to the most recent economic impact analysis, Bradley contributes $4 billion in economic activity to the state of Connecticut and the surrounding region, representing $1.2 billion in wages and 18,000 full-time jobs. The CAA was established in 2011 to develop, improve, and operate Bradley International Airport and the state’s five general aviation airports.

CT Women Underrepresented Among Top Earners; 4th Widest Gap in US

In only three states in the nation are women more underrepresented among the top 1 percent of wage owners, when compared with the state’s overall female population. Connecticut ranks 4th – after South Dakota, New Hampshire and Wyoming – in underrepresentation of women among the top earners in the state. Connecticut has a ratio of 6 men for every woman in the state’s top 1 percent of wage earners. South Dakota has the widest gap and largest ratio, at 8.2.

In Connecticut, 51.3 percent of the state’s population is female, yet only 14.4 percent of the top 1 percent of wage earners in the state are women. That is a gap of 36.9 percent, ranking the state fourth.  In Wyoming the gap is 37.1 percent, in New Hampshire 38.6 percent, and in South Dakota, 39 percent. In South Dakota, with the widest gap, only 10.9 percent of the wage earners in the top one percent are women.

On the other end of the spectrum, the gap in Delaware is 10.6 percent, in Hawaii 16.8 percent, Rhode Island 17.8 percent and Vermont 21.7 percent. The ratio of males to females among the top one percent earners is 1.4 in Delaware, 2.0 in Hawaii, 1.9 in Rhode Island and 2.5 in Vermont, compared with Connecticut’s 6.0.

Bloomberg ranked the U.S. states and the District of Columbia on the extent to which females are underrepresented in the 1% income bracket, utilizing U.S. Census data.

Connecticut also had the nation’s second highest threshold income to gain entry into the one percent club, at $429,793. Only Alaska, at $500,052 was higher. Just slightly lower than Connecticut was the District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota and Minnesota ($387, 414). At the opposite end of the states tally was Wyoming, with an income of $244,207 placing individuals in the state’s top one percent of earners.

In the percentage of women in the overall population, Connecticut ranked 10th, at 51.3 percent. Only 10 states have more men than women in their population. Alaska has the highest percentage of men, at 52.1, and the District of Columbia the highest percentage of women, at 52.7. Following closely behind are Rhode Island and Mississippi, both with 51.7 percent of their population being female.

Using data from the U.S. Census, Bloomberg calculated the approximate 99th percentile, or top 1%, of inflation-adjusted wage or salary income figures for those ages 16 and older and employed. Gender information was extracted and the gap between the percentage of females in the 1% bracket and the percentage of females in the state's population was calculated.

Teen Journalists Bring Attention to Issues of Cyber-Bulling, Underage Drinking, Social Media Stress

Connecticut teen girls drink at a higher rate than the national average, Connecticut’s teen drinking rate is higher than ever, cyber-bullying rates among girls in the state have increased, and moderate to high stress levels among a majority of teens nationwide – and how they respond to stress – are raising new concerns. Those are just some of the statistics highlighted this month by student journalists at the Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT), an investigative news website populated by veteran journalists focusing on health issues facing the state. In recent days, the high school students - participants in week-long journalism workshops at UConn, Quinnipiac and Yale universities led by C-HIT - have been producing news stories that target issues facing a demographic they are not only familiar with, but, in most cases, part of. The students are learning research methods intrinsic to journalism and the results of their work have been eye-opening. Some of the highlights:

With access to social media reaching an all-time high, cyber-bullying rates have gone up among girls in Connecticut, according to the latest Connecticut High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In Connecticut in 2013, cyber-bullying rates among girls were at 22.8 percent - more than 1 in 5 girls reported being cyber bullied. That was an increase of 2.7 percent from 2011. Unlike among females, cyber bullying among males dropped by .2 percent, to 12.3 percent in 2013.

According to statistics from the Bureau of Justice, 37 percent of teenagers reported being bullied at school and 52 percent said they were victims of cyber bulling. Cyber bullying is tormenting, humiliating, or harassing another individual using the Internet, cell phones, or other types of social media.

Of the young people who reported cyber bullying incidents against them, one in three reported that they experienced threats online. Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber-bullying occurs, the website says. Surveys show that girls are twice as likely as boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2013 reported that Connecticut girls are more likely to drink than their peers nationally. In Connecticut, 8.5 percent of high school girls have driven drunk – which is higher than the national average of 7.8 percent. In Connecticut, 37 percent of high school girls surveyed said they had at least one alcoholic drink, at least one day before the survey, compared to 35.5 percent nationally.

Teen drinking is a problem nationwide, but it is more apparent among teenage girls. Roughly 90 percent of adults who have substance abuse problems now began as adolescents, according to Dr. J Craig Allen, the chief medical officer of Rushford Center, a Connecticut substance abuse and mental health treatment center. Overall, Connecticut’s teen drinking rate is higher than ever, with students experimenting with alcohol as early as 11 years of age -- nearly two years younger than the national average, according to the Rushford Center. Teens in Connecticut are consuming 26-28 percent more alcohol than their peers around the country, according to data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The availability of alcohol plays a factor in teen drinking. Other contributing factors in suburban areas include stress, with many teens placed under academic and other pressures on a day-to-day basis, experts suggest. A 2012 study by the Columbia University Teachers College found evidence that “affluenza,” described as a “metaphorical illness connoting hyper-investment in material wealth among upper-middle class families,” was a factor in negative behaviors including drug and alcohol use.

Nationally, teens are feeling stressed in and out of school, according to a survey done for the American Psychological Association. The survey showed that during the 2012-13 school year 55 percent of the 1,000 teens questioned said that they felt moderate stress during the school year, and 27 percent said that they felt “extreme stress.” Forty percent of teens said that stress is making them irritable or angry, and 36 percent said that stress made them nervous, angry or fatigued, according to the survey.

The survey also found that social media plays a role in teen stress. Thirty-nine percent of girls and 29 percent of boys questioned said that they do care how others perceive them on social media --- and that they need to keep up a persona on social media websites.

Of most concern to doctors in the survey findings was how teens dealt with stress. Forty-six percent of teens responded that playing video games was their way to manage stress, 43 percent said they surf the internet and only 37 percent said that they would exercise or walk.

This summer, C-HIT worked with 75 students in a 'newsroom' setting, with each student researching, reporting and writing his or her own story,  working with complex databases and conducting interviews.  The 2014 workshops were supported by organizations and individual donors including the Dow Jones News Fund, William Graustein, the Fisher Foundation, People’s Bank, the Knox Foundation, Quinnipiac University, and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The journalism workshops will be offered again next summer.

Photo:  Among the C-HIT students are (left to right) Mackenzie Brayman, a student at North Stonington High School; Julyanna Schreider and Shamoya Hanson, students at the Journalism & Media Academy, Hartford; Talon Cooper, a student at Hillhouse High School, New Haven; and Conner Fritchley, a student at Wilton High School. Information included in this article was researched and developed by the students for their news stories.

Additional investigative news stories by the students participating in the C-HIT summer journalism program can be seen at http://c-hit.org/

Summer Sandwiches: Lobster Roll is Connecticut Standout, Zagat Says

When Zagat’s decided to take a bite into the uniqueness of sandwiches during August (It is national sandwich month! Who knew?) – highlighting particularly noteworthy culinary endeavors in every state in the nation – the focus in Connecticut landed squarely on the lobster roll. Their review of “delicious regional sandwiches” found in each state had some overlap (Maine was also noted for its Lobster Roll, for example) and some regional favorites with a national following. And some surprises (see bison, reindeer, and marshmallow, below).

“While many consider the cold, mayonnaise-driven Maine lobster roll to be the quintessential version of the sandwich, the first lobster roll was actually a hot, buttered one served at a restaurant called Perry’s in Milford, Connecticut, in the 1920s,” Zagat’s explained. “This version is usually simpler, featuring just lobster meat, butter, and maybe some black pepper or lemon juice on a grilled, split-top hot dog bun, and served with potato chips or French fries. “

Cited by the Zagat survey was Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough in Noank, founded in 1947. “They take the simplicity of the Connecticut-style hot lobster roll and turn it into an art form. Their award-winning sandwich is made with a full quarter-pound of lobster meat (more than is found in the average small lobster) drenched in melted creamery butter and heaped onto a bun. It’s a sandwich so opulent, it’s well worth the trip to this far-off-the-beaten-path lobster pound to get one (not to mention the crowds you have to battle to order).”

Noteworthy in the region were the Italian Sub in New Jersey and the Italian Grinder in Rhode Island. (A distinction without a difference?) In Massachusetts, the Zagat selection was the Fluffernutter: “The delectable marshmallow fluff was in fact invented in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1917. A man named Archibald Query sold it door-to-door before he sold the recipe, though who it is that thought to pair it with peanut butter on white bread is not as clear. Nevertheless, the fluff is celebrated to this day with a Fluff Festival in Somerville” in September.

New Hampshire was noted for its “Beer-Battered Fish Sandwich” and Vermont for the aptly-named Vermonter, a “ sweet-and-savory sandwich that typically includes either turkey or ham (sometimes both), sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, thinly-sliced green apples and honey mustard, although there are many different variations (including a decent number that come with cranberry mayonnaise instead of honey mustard).”

In case you were wondering, in Alaska it is the Reindeer Sausage Sandwich, in Wyoming the Bison Reuben, in Alabama the Chicken Sandwich with White Sauce, and in Arkansas the Fried Bologna Sandwich, and Mississippi the Elvis sandwich (peanut butter, fried banana and bacon). The Zagat’s  reporting (and tasting) was conducted for the August 2013 observance of National Sandwich Month, with a tip of the plate to the notable Earl of Sandwich.

Hartford Region Improves Among Nation's Best Performing Cities in 2013

The Hartford region was the state’s only metropolitan area to improve its ranking relative to other metropolitan areas around the country in an analysis of job growth and regional economic factors in 2013 that ranked the nation’s top 200 Best Performing Cities. The top ranked Connecticut metropolitan area was Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, which ranked #85 among the nation’s top 200, an improvement in ranking from #93 the previous year.

Connecticut’s other major metro areas dropped in the rankings: Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk dropped to #106 from #94 in 2012, New Haven-Milford fell to #142 from #109 , and Norwich-New London ranked #187, falling from #152 the previous year.

The 2013 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary, and technology growth.

Topping the list of Large Cities were Austin-Round Rock–San Marcos, Texas and Provo-Orem, Utah followed by San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Salt Lake City, UT. Rounding out the top 10 were the metropolitan areas of Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Boulder, and Greeley, CO.

Biggest gainers on the list include Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.V. (70th, up 100 slots); Tulsa, Okla., (42nd, up from 118th), and Phoenix, (66th, up from 122nd). Within the top 25 metro areas, Texas claimed seven spots; Colorado and California each had four.

The website interactive features offer a means of comparing cities in the various economic factors.  In most years, according to the study authors, the factors evaluated in the index give a good indication of the underlying structural performance of regional economics.

A nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank, the Milken Institute works to improve lives around the world by advancing innovative economic and policy solutions that create jobs, widen access to capital, and enhance health.

Celebrated DJ Who Started at WCCC Going Strong as Station's Rock Era Ends

There were two milestones in radio broadcasting during the past 12 months that connected to the career of on-air personality and Hartford native Rusty Potz. Last week, Potz’ former radio home, WCCC in Hartford, was sold to new owners who abruptly ended the station’s decades-long rock-n-roll format. It was in the early ‘70’s that Potz was a leading DJ at the Hartford station, which later that decade featured a DJ named Howard Stern. Potz was well known in Hartford, moving on, like Stern, to new opportunities. That’s where the other milestone draws attention. Potz didn’t move too far – to radio station WLNG in Sag Harbor on Long Island. And he has been there ever since – from 1975 though the station’s 50th anniversary celebration last year, and continues on the air six days a week.

As WCCC has slipped away, WLNG is going strong. The station’s oldies format, local news coverage, and community orientation has loyal listeners in high places, as was evident in March this year.

The Sag Harbor Express reported this spring that WLNG was the prime topic of conversation on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Mr. Fallon asked Mr. Joel to join him in crashing Sag Harbor’s oldies station WLNG 92.1 and the singer, a longtime resident of Sag Harbor, enthusiastically agreed, the newspaper reported. The celebrities plugged the small station in front of a nationwide audience—over four million— resulting in a flood of listeners and website traffic for WLNG.

“We’re a nostalgia station,” Potz told the Sag Harbor Express last year. He is the executive vice president and has been with the station for 38 years. “We’re a part of people’s lives… People like a station that’s familiar. They want to know what they can expect. The oldies we play, we have just about every hit that ever came out.”

Potz earned his degree from the University of Hartford, and has been in radio since 1963 - on 20 different radio stations, most of them in Hartford, New Haven, and Springfield, MA.  At one time, he worked at four stations simultaneously.

In 1967, at WPOP Rusty's show was the top rated evening show in Connecticut, his station biography reports.  In 1969 WAVZ in New Haven received the TV-RADIO MIRROR award for Rusty's show as the top show on the east coast. Rusty was the program director at WCCC in Hartford for many years, including the years when the station featured the "All Request Radio" format, and came to WLNG on September 1, 1975.

The history of WCCC counted numerous broadcasters who went on to enduring careers. Howard Stern is perhaps the best known nationally. But for listeners in Eastern Long Island, Rusty Potz remains a household name.

An additional Connecticut connection was apparent recently. One of Potz’ guests on his WLNG program last month was former Channel 8 newscaster and ESPN broadcaster George Grande. Both were quite prominent on the Connecticut broadcast scene in the ‘70’s. Grande hosted the first edition of SportsCenter on ESPN in 1979, going on to a sportscasting career in New York, Cincinnati and as host of the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony for more than two decades.

Connecticut Energy Costs are Third Highest in the US, Analysis Finds

The only states in the nation with higher monthly energy bills for consumers are Mississippi and Hawaii. Connecticut is ranked as the 3rd most energy expensive state in the country, according to a new analysis by WalletHub, which used six key metrics to rank the states according to their tendency to produce the highest or lowest monthly energy bills. The analysis points out that “lower prices don’t always equate with lower costs, as consumption is a key determinant in the total amount of an energy bill.” Connecticut’s monthly energy cost for consumers, according to the analysis, is $404, ranking the state 49th out of 51 (the 50 states plus the District of Columbia). Mississippi’s total monthly cost paid by consumers averages $414, while Hawaii’s is $451.

In terms of specific energy sources, the state ranked 50th in monthly electric cost ($143) and 48th in the cost of natural gas ($94). Perhaps due to the size of Connecticut, the state ranked 14th in fuel cost, at $167 per month, despite the state’s gas tax being among the highest in the nation. (see breakdown below)

In the United States, 7.1 percent of the average consumer’s total income is spent on energy costs, including fuel, natural gas and electricity.

The states with the least expensive energy costs for consumers, taking consumption into account, are Colorado ($301), Washington State ($302), Montana ($305), Rhode Island ($307), Nebraska ($312), the District of Columbia ($314), Pennsylvania ($317), Arkansas ($319), Delaware ($319) and Iowa ($319).

The other New England States, in addition to Rhode Island landing towards the top and Connecticut near the bottom, were bunched in the middle: Massachusetts ranked #35, New Hampshire #26, Vermont #28, and Maine #32.

Breaking out prices from consumption, Connecticut’s energy picture for consumers as compared with other states, is:

• 49th – Price of Electricity
• 16th – Electricity Consumption per Consumer
• 44th – Price of Natural Gas
• 48th – Natural Gas Consumption per Consumer
• 46th – Price of Fuel
• 10th – Fuel Consumption per Driver

The analysis was released in July because it tends to be the hottest month of the year in the contiguous U.S., and as a result it has the highest energy consumption.

If you’re wondering how all this was calculated, WalletHub provides the answer: (Average Monthly Consumption of Electricity x Average Retail Price of Electricity) + (Average Monthly Consumption of Natural Gas x Average Natural Gas Residential Prices) + [Average Fuel Price * (Average Monthly Vehicle Miles Traveled / Average Car Consumption / Number of Drivers)] = Average Monthly Energy Bill Consumers Pay in Each State

WalletHub, described as “the social network for your wallet,” provides data to help readers “make smart financial decisions.” The site points out that “during the summer, when many Americans undergo major life transitions such as relocating to start a new job or start a family, the difference in energy costs among states becomes an important financial consideration.”  Connecticut ranks #49.

New Owners, Big Changes at Former “Big D”; Classic Rock Formats Differ by Geography

At the start of this week, Westport-based Connoisseur Media became the new owners of Connecticut’s oldest radio station, WDRC, owned for the past half-century by Buckley Broadcasting. The sale also included Buckley Connecticut stations WMMW AM in Meriden, WWCO AM in Waterbury and WSNG AM in Torrington, which have been added to Connoisseur stations in New Haven and Fairfield counties, WPLR, WYBC, the Fox and Star. At WDRC, virtually within minutes, several on-air personalities, the general manager and program director became former employees. The station’s website and Facebook changed, a new logo was launched, and a station with a heritage as one of the nation’s best know music stations as rock-n-roll took root in the 1960’s adopted a tagline that read “Classic Hits of the ‘70’s, ‘80’s and More.” Veteran broadcasters Mike Stevens, ‘Rockin’ Ron Sedaille, Floyd Wright and Grahame Winters were all dropped by WDRC’s new owners this week, along with Vice President/General Manager Eric Fahnoe.

The company’s largest cluster of stations is in the Northeast, predominantly in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But Connoisseur also owns stations in markets including Billings, MT, Rapid City, SD, Witchita, KS, Omaha, NE, and Bloomington, IL.

The station’s website now lists the quartet of Kim Zachary, Mike Lapitino, Allan Lamberti, and Rob Ray as on-air talent. Lapitino has been 99.1 WPLR’s afternoon air personality; Lamberti has handled the evening hours at the New Haven-based station. Lamberti, who has also been on air at Connoisseur’s Fairfield County classic rock station, 95.9 FOX, was on the afternoon drive shift at WDRC-FM. Chaz & AJ, the veteran morning drive duo, are heard simultaneously on both the New Haven and Fairfield County stations.

CEO Jeffrey D. Warshaw founded Connoisseur Communications Partners, LP, in 1993. Through strategic purchases of multiple single radio stations in medium to small sized radio markets, the company grew to 39 stations (owned or operated) prior to this week’s final sale of the Connecticut stations.

In May, the company also announced plans to purchase WALK-AM/FM on Long Island, where the company already owns four radio stations. Among them are some Classic Rock formatted stations, although a national study released this week suggests that what listens hear in such a format varies across the country.

A new study by the well-respected data-driven website FiveThirtyEight “found that classic rock is more than just music from a certain era, and that it changes depending on where you live. What plays in New York — a disproportionate amount of Billy Joel, for example — won’t necessarily fly in San Antonio, which prefers Mötley Crüe.” The website studied the airplay of classic rock stations in the nation’s top 30 markets for a week, and analyzed what was played.

“Classic rock is heavily influenced by region, and in ways that are unexpected. For example, Los Angeles is playing Pearl Jam, a band most popular in the 1990s, five times more frequently than the rest of the country. Boston is playing the ’70s-era Allman Brothers six times more frequently.” WDRC was not included in their review of classic rock stations in the nation’s top markets.

The website reported that “the trend steadily held” for songs “of the ’70s and through the mid-’80s,” with the 10-year period from 1973 to 1982 accounting for 57 percent of all song plays. When ‘60’s songs were played, they were predominantly from the Beatles, the study summary noted. “Classic rock peaked — by song plays — in 1973.”

The analysis also found that “the top 25 most frequently played artists — the likes of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and the Rolling Stones — together account for almost half of the spins on classic rock stations in the U.S. Another way of saying that is 5 percent of all the bands played on these stations made up nearly 50 percent of the song plays — which shows that there is at least a classic rock core.”

Staff changes are yet to be finalized, but at present Connoisseur ‘s General Manager for its stations in southern Connecticut, Kristin Okesson, will oversee the Hartford area stations. Okesson currently manages WPLR, WEZN, WFOX, and WYBC.

WDRC is considered the oldest radio station in Connecticut, begun in 1920 in New Haven by Franklin Doolittle Radio Corp., eventually relocating to Hartford (ultimately to 750 Main Street) and then to its current location at 869 Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield. WDRC-AM switched from a music to talk format decades ago, with WDRC-FM retaining the “Big D” style popularized in the ‘60’s and tweaked through the decades.

Greater Hartford Ranked #19 Among Best Places for Graduates in STEM Fields

If you’ve graduated college with a solid background and degree in hand in one of the in-demand STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), there are some regions in America that are better than others to pursue your career. A new comparison of metropolitan areas across the country has ranked Greater Hartford as the 19th most desirable area in the country for college graduates who studied one of the STEM fields.

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford finished just ahead of San Diego – Carlsbad – San Marcos, California. One slot above Hartford in the rankings was Columbus, Ohio. Boston and Hartford were the only northeast cities to make the top 20 list.

Of all the jobs in the Hartford-West-Hartford-East-Hartford metropolitan area — which covers Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties — 6.6 percent were in STEM fields. That fact alone accounted for 50 percent of the total score Nerd Wallet assigned to the metro area, Hartford Business Journal reported. It also accounted for the area's $81,932 median annual wage for STEM jobs and its median gross apartment rent of $948.

The website Nerd Wallet determined the best places for STEM graduates by analyzing the following factors in the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas:

• Income levels for STEM jobs: They looked at the annual mean wage for STEM occupations in each metro area, and factored in median gross rent as a cost of living metric to see how far the average income goes in each place.
• Size of STEM industries: They included STEM occupations as a percentage of all jobs in a city to measure the robustness of the STEM industries and gauge availability of STEM jobs.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage for a STEM job is $79,395 — nearly 71% higher than the national annual average wage across all occupations and industries.  The top 10:

1. San Jose – Sunnyvale – Santa Clara, California
2. Seattle – Bellevue – Everett, Washington
3. Washington, DC – Arlington, VA – Alexandria
4. Houston – Sugar Land – Baytown
5. San Francisco – San Mateo – Redwood City, California
6. Austin – Round Rock – San Marcos, Texas
7. Boston – Cambridge – Quincy, Massachusetts
8. Raleigh – Cary, North Carolina
9. Denver – Aurora – Broomfield, Colorado
10. Dayton, Ohio

The analysis used U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2013 and rent data from the 2012 U.S. Census.

The region's focus on the STEM fields begins well before college graduation.  One recent example:  earlier this year, the CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering was ranked 15th in the nation and first in Connecticut in U.S. News & World Report's latest "Best High Schools" edition. The Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy in East Hartford ranked 31st nationally and second in the state.

Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Would Consider Coworking, If Only They Knew What It Was

Good news, bad news. That might be the best way to describe the results of a national survey by CoworkCT into public awareness of, and interest in, coworking. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) said they would consider working in a collaborative work environment once they understood the concept (good news), but 60% said they had never heard of it (bad news). CoworkCT, a network of coworking communities whose members include small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and contractors who share space, resources, and ideas, conducted the national survey to better understand how familiar Americans are with coworking. Answer:  they're not.

A new website will be launched next week at www.coworkct.org, with more information about coworking in Connecticut.  Additional data, links and information will be added to the current test site, to assist in explaining the coworking concept to what the study suggests will be a receptive public.

According to the survey, the demographic groups most inclined to consider a coworking environment were 18 to 34 year olds (75%) and residents of the Northeast (72%). That is certainly true of Connecticut, which has seen growth in the concept in recent years, with coworking locations established in communities across the state, including Danbury Hackerspace, reSET (Hartford), the Grove (New Haven), B-Hive (Bridgeport), Stamford Innovation Center and Axis 901 (Manchester).  Each will have a presence on the news website, reflecting their growing community presence.

CoworkCT reports that the average cost of a coworking membership is $200 per month and the average cost of a private desk or office in a coworking facility is $350. The data from the survey showed that on average, people think the monthly cost of an individual coworking membership is $1,300.  Not even close.

Other key findings from the research include:

• Nearly 40% of respondents said that collaboration with other professionals (not necessarily within their organization) was the most attractive feature of a coworking space, followed by 19% of respondents who chose affordability
• Forty percent of respondents thought small businesses with fewer than 10 employees were best-suited for coworking, followed by 21% of respondents who said entrepreneurs would be the best fit
• More than half of respondents (55%) said they thought it costs more than $500 per person per month for an individual space in a coworking environment

CoworkCT is a network of Connecticut coworking communities where members share space, resources, and ideas. The goal of the network is to educate the public on the benefits of coworking and increase general awareness for the collaborative work style.

CoworkCT is coordinated by CT Next, Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem supporting the success of companies and entrepreneurs by providing guidance, resources and networks to accelerate their growth. The statewide network “connects promising companies to mentors, collaborative work spaces, universities, vendors, suppliers and other like-minded entrepreneurs to help facilitate the growth and scalability of their business.”  CT Next is a program of CT Innovations, the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies.

Among the other coworking sites in Connecticut that are expected to be invited to the new CoworkCT website are SoNo Spaces in South Norwalk, Group 88 in Simsbury , and The Soundview, Colodesk and Comradity, all in Stamford.

The national data in the report was based on an ORC International telephone CARVAN® Omnibus survey conducted among a sample of 1,006 adults 18 and older living in the continental U.S. Interviews were completed from April 24 to 27, 2014.