It is primarily a middle-class and working-class enclave of 10,800 residents composed mostly of postwar single-family homes and duplexes.

[1] As with the rest of West Hartford, Elmwood was mostly rural and sparsely populated, consisting of farmland and agriculture, until suburban residential development unfolded throughout the 20th century.

Once home to a substantial Irish and Italian American community, Elmwood today is West Hartford's most racially diverse section of town.

The commercial section of New Britain Avenue is known as Elmwood Center, an area composed of local businesses, services, and restaurants.

Newington Road and New Park Avenue are formerly areas where the manufacturing sector thrived in previous decades and have experienced steady revitalizations in recent years.