Best PlacesSouth Strafford, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Strafford, 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 Strafford ranks 2,670th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Strafford
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 Strafford's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Strafford ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 96% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
Where South Strafford ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,512 a month, better than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Strafford
A household needs to earn about $120,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Strafford home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $109,100; 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 Strafford's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 South Strafford
South Strafford 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 South Strafford.
Who works in South Strafford, and how
Work in South Strafford centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Strafford
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Strafford.
What the weather is like in South Strafford, month by month
South Strafford sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of South Strafford
The nearest airport, Lebanon Municipal, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 123 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Strafford
Schools across South Strafford average an A, better than 96% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bernice A. Ray SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Lyme Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Newton SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frances C. Richmond SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Hanover High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Strafford school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Strafford 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 Strafford against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Strafford
Is South Strafford a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Strafford ranks 2,670th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, an educated workforce, and good schools, and lowest on internet speeds and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Strafford expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $425,760. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $109,100 median income, cost of living beats 88% of towns.
Is South Strafford safe?
Yes, South Strafford is safer than 100% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $118 per resident a year.
Compare South Strafford with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Strafford. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Strafford 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 Strafford detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Strafford: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Strafford: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Strafford: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Strafford: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Strafford 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.