Best Places05454, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 05454, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
05454 ranks 1,976th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 05454
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
05454's strengths and weaknesses
Where 05454 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$126,360 median, better than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 05454 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,322 a month, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 71 pleasant days a year, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 05454
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 05454 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $126,360, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 05454's effective rate of 1.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 05454
05454's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 05454.
Who works in 05454, and how
Work in 05454 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 05454
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 05454.
What the weather is like in 05454, month by month
05454 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 05454
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 190 miles away.
The best schools in and around 05454
Schools across 05454 average an A−, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cumberland Head Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Bellows Free Academy Elementary (fairfax)C · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stafford Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Plattsburgh Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Bellows Free Academy Middle/high School (fairfax)C+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 05454 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
05454 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 05454 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 05454
Is 05454 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 05454 ranks 1,976th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, heat safety, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on cell coverage and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 05454 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $374,451. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $126,360 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 05454 safe?
Yes, 05454 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $137 per resident a year.
Compare 05454 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 05454. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 05454 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
05454 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 05454: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 05454: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 05454: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 05454: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
05454 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.