Best PlacesSouth Walden, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Walden, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Walden ranks 19,795th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Walden
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 Walden's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Walden ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of towns
- QuietBetter than 87% of towns
Where South Walden ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,280 a month, better than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Walden
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Walden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,948, 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 South Walden's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 Walden
South Walden 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 Walden.
Who works in South Walden, and how
Work in South Walden 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 75%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in South Walden
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Walden.
What the weather is like in South Walden, month by month
South Walden sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 20° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 42° | 30° |
| July | 83° | 69° | 56° |
| October | 62° | 49° | 38° |
Flying in and out of South Walden
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 160 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Walden
Schools across South Walden average a C+, better than 44% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Monroe Consolidated SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Mildred C. Lakeway SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Daisy Bronson Junior High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Littleton High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Walden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Walden 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 Walden against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Walden
Is South Walden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Walden ranks 19,795th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Walden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,381. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $82,948 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is South Walden safe?
Yes, South Walden is safer than 80% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare South Walden with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Walden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Walden 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 Walden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Walden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Walden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Walden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Walden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Walden 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.