Best PlacesSouth Burlington, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Burlington, 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.
South Burlington ranks 2,428th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Burlington
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.
South Burlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Burlington ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 97% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of towns
Where South Burlington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,718 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 14% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Burlington
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Burlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $115,833; 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 South Burlington'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, 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 South Burlington
South Burlington'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 South Burlington.
Who works in South Burlington, and how
Work in South Burlington 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 73%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in South Burlington
South Burlington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of towns and more parkland per resident than 89% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Burlington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Burlington, month by month
South Burlington 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 South Burlington
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 176 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Burlington
Schools across South Burlington average a B+, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Champlain SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Edmunds Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Orchard SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frederick H. Tuttle Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Colchester Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Lyman C. Hunt Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Ausable Valley High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- South Burlington High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Burlington High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Burlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Burlington 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 South Burlington against the other 50,332 towns.
Who South Burlington suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in South Burlington
Is South Burlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Burlington ranks 2,428th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, population health, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Burlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $449,873. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $115,833 median income, cost of living beats 86% of towns.
Is South Burlington safe?
South Burlington is safer than 42% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $345 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Burlington?
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 33% of towns.
Is South Burlington good for families?
Schools beat 72% of towns, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $1,718 a month.
Compare South Burlington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Burlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Burlington 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.
South Burlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Burlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Burlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Burlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Burlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Burlington 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.