By Alexander Soule

When Italia Yachts chose southwestern Connecticut for its first U.S. sales office, it had any number of Gold Coast enclaves in which to weigh anchor, from Greenwich to Westport.

Its port of call? Milford — a choice that more businesses are making as local economies continue to build momentum off an ongoing surge in the markets.

New Haven led Connecticut’s largest cities in economic performance in 2017, according to a new study by the Connecticut Department of Labor, with Milford edging Danbury for the top score among smaller cities in southwestern Connecticut.

Oxford topped all towns in the region, with North Stonington

New Haven led Connecticut’s largest cities in economic performance in 2017, according to a new study by the Connecticut Department of Labor, with Milford edging Danbury for the top score among smaller cities in southwestern Connecticut.

having the best-performing economy in the state regardless of population.

The Connecticut Department of Labor assesses economic performance according to household employment and wage trends, and any changes to the numbers of business establishments in any given locale on a net basis.

The index omits several other important economic criteria, including the relative performances of residential real estate markets that can be a telltale for the desirability of a town for newcomers considering their options on where to live; and office occupancies that provide a window into the hiring of companies located within a town. As an example, Greenwich is ranked 155th on the statewide list, despite an ever-shrinking vacancy rate in its downtown area as the run-up on Wall Street trickles down to the professional firms in its downtown business sector.

On the DOL index, Hartford had the best improvement of any city in Connecticut with at least 100,000 inhabitants, edging New Haven’s year-over-year comparison. Among smaller municipalities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 people, Mansfield made the biggest jump just ahead of Orange, with Franklin registering the biggest gain among smaller towns statewide and Darien ranking 12th to edge one rung ahead of Sherman to lead the southwestern corner of the state, with the two towns also leading the region for economic gains since 2014.

Municipalities statewide saw a sizable upswing on this year’s DOL index, with only nine Connecticut towns suffering a drop in