Best PlacesChittenden County, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chittenden County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chittenden County ranks 154th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $102,239, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, property taxes, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Chittenden County
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.
The best areas in Chittenden County
The parts of Chittenden County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Shelburne & Charlotte
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Underhill & Westford
Tree cover is thicker, though biking is worse.
Richmond & Hinesburg
More residents vote, though streets are more car-dependent.
Colchester
It is quieter and crime runs lower.
South Burlington, Essex & Williston
Scores close to Colchester, except that fewer homes sit empty here.
Milton
Schools score lower and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Burlington
Fewer households have young kids and health care is harder to reach.
Chittenden County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 12% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Chittenden County's strengths and weaknesses
Chittenden County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Population health is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. An educated workforce and low disaster risk follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Property taxes and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Chittenden County ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- BikingBetter than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
Where Chittenden County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,718 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 27% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chittenden County
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chittenden County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,239, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Chittenden County's effective rate of 1.48%, 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 Chittenden County
Chittenden County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chittenden County.
Who works in Chittenden County, and how
Work in Chittenden County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Chittenden County
Chittenden County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Chittenden County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chittenden County growing, and who is moving in?
Chittenden County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chittenden County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chittenden County, month by month
Chittenden County sees roughly 73 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 Chittenden County
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 177 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chittenden County
Schools across Chittenden County average a B, better than 81% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cumberland Head Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Underhill Central SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Smilie Memorial Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Camels Hump Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Browns River Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Essex Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Plattsburgh Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Peru High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Ausable Valley High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chittenden County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chittenden County 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 Chittenden County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Chittenden County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of counties and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Chittenden County
Is Chittenden County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chittenden County ranks 154th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and low disaster risk, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chittenden County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $456,077. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $102,239 median income, cost of living beats 84% of counties.
Is Chittenden County safe?
Yes, Chittenden County is safer than 64% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $337 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chittenden County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 15. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Chittenden County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Shelburne & Charlotte, Underhill & Westford, and Richmond & Hinesburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Chittenden County good for families?
Schools beat 81% of counties, crime safety beats 64%, and childcare runs $1,718 a month.
Is Chittenden County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 58% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Chittenden County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chittenden County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chittenden County 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.
Chittenden County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chittenden County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chittenden County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chittenden County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chittenden County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chittenden County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.