Best PlacesIsland Pond, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Island Pond, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Island Pond ranks 37,016th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Property taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in Island Pond
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.
Island Pond's strengths and weaknesses
Where Island Pond ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 83% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Island Pond ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,436 a month, better than only 5% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of towns
- School gradeD, better than only 9% of towns
- Household income$47,672 median, better than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Island Pond
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Island Pond home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $47,672; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Island Pond's effective rate of 1.92%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Island Pond
Island Pond runs older than the country, 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 Island Pond.
Who works in Island Pond, and how
Work in Island Pond centers on hospitality & food and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Island Pond
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Island Pond.
What the weather is like in Island Pond, month by month
Island Pond sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 9° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 30° |
| July | 80° | 68° | 57° |
| October | 60° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Island Pond
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 174 miles away.
The best schools in and around Island Pond
Schools across Island Pond average a D, better than 9% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Brighton Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Stratford Public SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Colebrook Academy And Elementary School (h)C · 34% proficient
- Groveton High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Island Pond school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Island Pond 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 Island Pond against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Island Pond
Is Island Pond a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Island Pond ranks 37,016th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, clean air, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Island Pond expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,101. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $47,672 median income, cost of living beats 8% of towns.
Is Island Pond safe?
Yes, Island Pond is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $208 per resident a year.
Compare Island Pond with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Island Pond. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Island Pond 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.
Island Pond detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Island Pond: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Island Pond: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Island Pond: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Island Pond: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Island Pond 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.