New London is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Connecticut. With a population of 27,980 people and seven associated neighborhoods, New London is the 38th largest community in Connecticut. New London has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

There are many members of the armed forces living in New London. You will notice when you visit or live here that some of the people you meet or see around town are employed by the armed services - even if they are not always in uniform.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 12.03% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, New London is a college town. There are a lot of students in New London attending college, and as a result New London provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students.

New London is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

A lot of people in New London take the bus for their daily commute. For the size of the city, the number of people who use public transportation is quite high. For many people in New London, this fills their need for low-cost transportation.

The overall education level of New London is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 26.78% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in New London in 2022 was $30,943, which is low income relative to Connecticut, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $123,772 for a family of four. However, New London contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

New London is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call New London home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of New London residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. New London also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 29.37% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in New London include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of New London's cultural character, accounting for 17.41% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in New London is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.