Map of Connecticut showing the Southeastern Connecticut region
The Southeastern Connecticut region comprises, as the name suggests, the southeastern corner of the state of Connecticut. It is sometimes referred to as New London County or by the tourist slogan Mystic and More[citation needed].
Southeastern Connecticut has historically been an area heavily dependent on traditional New England economic activities such as fishing, whaling, 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, and other services.
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: 2013 consolidation of Councils of governments in Connecticut. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2018)
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, Lyme, Old Lyme, Voluntown, as well as the towns of Westerly and Hopkinton in Rhode Island (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.
