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The Southeastern Connecticut region comprises, as the name suggests, the southeastern corner of the state of
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. It is sometimes referred to as New London County or by the tourist slogan '' Mystic and More''. Southeastern Connecticut has historically been an area heavily dependent on traditional New England economic activities such as
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
,
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
, oystering, and the defense industry. In the present day, the area remains the primary home of the state's fishing and shellfish activity but has since diversified its economic base to include tourism,
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
, and other services. The area is home to the
United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...
in New London, a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
base in Groton (also home to
Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...
where the first U.S. nuclear submarine, , was launched, on January 21, 1954), a
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
research facility, and the
Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...
and
Foxwoods Foxwoods Resort Casino is an integrated resort owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their Indian reservation, reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casino ...
casinos.


Definitions

There are several official definitions for the region. In all definitions, the following 20 towns are always included: *
Bozrah Busaira (; also Busayra, Busairah or Buseirah) is a town in Tafilah Governorate, Jordan, located between the towns of Tafilah (Tophel) and Shoubak and closer to the latter. Bozrah ( ; also Botsra, Botzrah, Buzrak) is a Hebrew Bible, biblical cit ...
*
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
* East Lyme * Franklin * Griswold * Groton (town and separate central city) * Jewett City *
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
* Ledyard *
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
* Montville * New London (central city) *
North Stonington North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States which was split off from Stonington, Connecticut, Stonington in 1724. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connect ...
*
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
(central city) * Preston * Salem * Sprague * Stonington (town and separate borough) * Voluntown *
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
* Windham


Southeastern Connecticut

This is an official region administered by the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments. It consists of 18 towns and oversees land use and transportation infrastructure planning for its member towns.


Southeast Service Delivery Area

This definition adds the towns of Lyme, Old Lyme, and Voluntown to the 16 core towns listed above for a total of 19 towns.


New England City and Town Area

The ''Norwich-New London-Westerly NECTA'' is the metropolitan area surrounding the Norwich/New London urbanized area using towns as building blocks. This definition contains 22 towns and adds the towns of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, Lyme, Old Lyme, Voluntown, as well as the towns of Westerly and Hopkinton in
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
(the latter of which now became part of the Providence–Fall River–Warwick, RI-MA NECTA).


Metropolitan Statistical Area

The ''Norwich-New London MSA'' is a metropolitan area definition using counties as building blocks. It consists of the 21 towns of New London County and adds the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme.


New London Labor Market Area

This definition contains 22 towns and adds the towns of Canterbury, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and Plainfield, as well as two towns in Rhode Island: Hopkinton and Westerly.


Ethnicity

Southeastern Connecticut's largest ethnic group is composed of Irish-Americans, followed by Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, and colonial British descent Americans historically referenced as “Swamp Yankees.” There is also a large Latino population mainly from Puerto Rico, followed by the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Ecuador. There is an African-American presence in many municipalities, and many Asian communities in different parts of the region. The Pequot and Mohegan tribes both have their own reservations and casinos, along with a strong identity to their culture, though most tribal members only have partial Native American ancestry. Southeastern Connecticut is an ethnically diverse region.


References

{{Reflist Regions of Connecticut