The Gold Coast is a region of the state of Connecticut, United States that roughly corresponds to the labor market area of the city of Stamford. The name is used in popular culture to designate a group of affluent towns in that general area, and as such there is not in fact a definitive list of which towns are part of the Gold Coast. The area includes the southwestern portion of Fairfield County. It derives its regional nickname from Fairfield County being ranked as one of the wealthiest counties in the United States and also from being the headquarters to most of the hedge funds in the country. Much of its economy and population are dependent on the region’s proximity to New York City. The Gold Coast is part of the New York metropolitan area.
The region has been portrayed numerous times in popular culture as a wealthy bastion of conformity, immorality, or anomie, most notably in The Stepford Wives, The Ice Storm, and Gentleman’s Agreement.
The Gold Coast cities of Norwalk and Stamford have significant working class populations but do not suffer from the same typical urban issues as, for example, nearby Bridgeport. The Gold Coast remains a region of marked income extremes, exacerbated by many middle-class residents moving out of the region because of the high cost of living.