On July 6, 1944, one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States happened in Hartford. It happened at a performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It became known as the Hartford Circus Fire.
After World War II, many people from Puerto Rico moved to Hartford.
Riverfront Plaza was opened in 1999. This connected the riverfront and the downtown area for the first time since the 1960s.
In July 2017, Hartford thought about filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy. However, a state bailout later that year stopped the city from filing the form.
The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that, is land and (3.67%) is water.
Hartford is in the humid continental climate zone (Köppen "Dfa"). This means it has hot, humid summers and cold winters.
The census of 2010 says that there were 124,775 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families living in the Hartford.
The people were 29.8% white, 38.7% African American or black, 0.6% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 23.9% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. 43.4% of the people were Hispanic or Latino, mostly from Puerto Rico. This amount is up from 32% in 1990. Whites not of Latino background made up 15.8% of the people in 2010, down from 63.9% in 1970.
There were 44,986 households. Of that, 34.4% of them had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 29.6% had a woman with no husband, and 39.6% were not families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals. 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. The average family size was 3.33.
30.1% of the people younger than 18, 12.6% were 18 to 24 years old, 29.8% were 25 to 44 years old, 18.0% were 45 to 64 years old, and 9.5% were 65 years old or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 women, there were 91.4 men. For every 100 women aged 18 and over, there were 86.0 men.
The median income for a household in Hartford was $20,820. The median income for a family was $22,051. Men had a median income of $28,444. Women had a median income of $26,131. The per capita income for the city was $13,428.
Hartford has a strong mayor-council government. In 2003, Hartford voted to have a mayor-council system. They had a council-manager form for more than 50 years. Mayor Eddie Perez was first elected in 2001. He was re-elected with 76% of the vote in 2003. He was the first strong mayor elected under the new government system. He is credited with lowering crime, reforming the school system, and helping the economy in the city. However, his reputation was hurt by accusations of corruption. The current mayor is Luke Bronin.
Connecticut cities provide almost all local services such as fire and rescue, education, and snow removal. This is because county government no longer exists in Connecticut since 1960.
In 2008, Hartford passed a law that gives services to all residents no matter what their immigration was. That law also stops police from arresting people only because of their immigration status. It also stops police from asking about a person's immigration status. In 2016, Hartford said it was a "Sanctuary city", although the term itself does not have an legal meaning.
The Hartford Fire Department provides all fire protection in Hartford. They have 12 fire stations in the Hartford. It is the fifth-biggest fire department in Connecticut. They also have a fire apparatus fleet.
The Hartford Police Department was created in 1860. Although, law enforcement in Hartford started in 1636. It is at 253 High Street.It includes divisions such as animal control, bomb squad, and detective bureau.
Hartford uses private companies to provide ambulances, including Aetna Ambulance.
Hartford is an important place for medical care, research, and education. In Hartford itself, the city has Hartford Hospital, The Institute of Living, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center (which merged in 1990 with Mount Sinai Hospital).
In March 2018, Infosys said they would open a new technology innovation hub in Hartford. This would create up to 1,000 jobs by 2022. The Hartford technology innovation hub will focus on three key things- insurance, healthcare and manufacturing.
Local unemployment is high in Hartford compared to other cities, the state, and the nation. Hartford's unemployment rate of 7.5% in the fall of 2018 was the highest of the four biggest cities in Connecticut. As a whole, Connecticut's unemployment rate remains above 5% while the National rate hovers just under 4%.
The daily "Hartford Courant" newspaper is the United States's oldest continuously published newspaper. It was created in 1764. A weekly newspaper called the "Hartford Advocate" also serves Hartford and the surrounding area. Other newspapers include the "Hartford Business Journal" ("Greater Hartford's Business Weekly") and the weekly "Hartford News".
The Hartford region also has some magazines. They include the "Hartford Magazine", a monthly lifestyle magazine serving Greater Hartford; "CT Cottages & Gardens"; "Connecticut Business", a monthly magazine serving all of Connecticut; and "Home Living CT", a home and garden magazine published five times per year.
The Hartford/New Haven television market is the 29th biggest media market in the U.S.
Hartford has many famous institutions such as Trinity College.
Hartford Public Schools runs the public school system. Hartford Public High School, the nation's second-oldest high school, is in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford.
The Connecticut Department of Education says that Hartford's high school graduation rate reached 71 percent in 2013.
I-84 and I-91 intersect in downtown Hartford.
Amtrak provides service from Hartford to Vermont via Springfield and southward to New Haven. The station also has many bus companies.
Bradley International Airport (BDL) is in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It has more than 150 flights every day. Those flights go to over 30 different places on 9 airlines. Connecticut Transit provides bus service between Bradley International Airport and downtown Hartford. Other airports serving the Hartford area include:
Connecticut Transit (CTtransit) is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The Hartford Division of CTtransit runs the local bus service in the city and the surrounding area. Hartford's Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) bus route is a free downtown circulator. All city buses have bike racks.
There are bicycle lanes on many roads including Capitol Avenue, Zion Street, Scarborough Lane, Whitney, and South Whitney.
The first American cookbook was "American Cookery, The Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry, and Vegetables" by Amelia Simons, was published in Hartford by Hudson & Goodwin in 1796. It was also the first cookbook to have recipes for squash and cornmeal. It also had the first published recipe for pumpkin pie. It influenced a generation of American baking with a recipe for leavening bread with pearl ash. The full text of the book is available online.
Hartford got praise from "Food and Wine" as "a foodie destination".
Hartford has many seasonal farmers' markets. The Hartford Regional Market is the biggest market between New York City and Boston.
The Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League plays ice hockey at the XL Center in downtown Hartford.
As of 2019, Hartford has a USL team. They play in the 9,600 seat Dillon Stadium.
Hartford has had historically important people, such as dictionary author Noah Webster (1758–1843), inventor Sam Colt (1814–62), and American financier and industrialist J.P. Morgan (1837–1913).