Connecticut, the Nutmeg State, occupies a block of southwestern New England. The fifth state to ratify the Constitution, in January 1788, is has changed from the forest and farmland of the Revolutionary Era to a mostly urban and suburban state with a manufacturing- and service-based economy.

Connecticut is home to many prominent secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, including the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, as well as the shipbuilding complex at Groton which manufactures nuclear submarines for the U.S. Navy.

The largest city is Bridgeport and the largest metropolitan area is centered around the capital of Hartford.