Best PlacesVermont Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Vermont, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Vermont ranks 17th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on cell coverage and empty homes. It does better on an educated workforce, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Vermont
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 Vermont
The counties of Vermont, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Addison County
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and more adults hold degrees.
Chittenden County & Franklin County
Fewer homes sit empty, though it is noisier.
Bennington County & Rutland County
Schools score higher and big-city amenities are closer.
Lamoille County
More households have young kids, though biking is worse.
Washington County
Tree cover is thicker, though disaster risk is higher.
Orange County
Homes cost less, though advertised internet is slower.
Windham County
Prices have run up more.
Windsor County
Scores close to Windham County, except that streets are more car-dependent here.
Orleans County & Caledonia County
Crime runs lower, though health outcomes score lower.
Vermont shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 8% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Vermont's strengths and weaknesses
Vermont lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. An educated workforce is the standout, in the top 1% of states. Quiet and tree cover follow.
The one real hole is cell coverage, near the bottom of the country. Empty homes and property taxes also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Vermont ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of states
- QuietBetter than 97% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of states
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of states
Where Vermont ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of states
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of states
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of states
- Cheap childcare$1,505 a month, better than only 9% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Vermont
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Vermont home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,971, 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 Vermont's effective rate of 1.58%, 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 Vermont
Vermont 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 Vermont.
Who works in Vermont, and how
Work in Vermont centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Vermont
Vermont has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of states and more parkland per resident than 67% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Vermont and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Vermont, month by month
Vermont sees roughly 74 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° |
The best schools in and around Vermont
Schools across Vermont average a B, better than 85% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Chazy Central Rural Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Rouses Point Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Bernice A. Ray SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frances C. Richmond SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Camels Hump Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Browns River Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Plattsburgh Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Beekmantown High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Hoosick Falls High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Vermont school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Vermont 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 Vermont against the other 49 states.
Who Vermont suits
Common questions about living in Vermont
Is Vermont a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Vermont ranks 17th of 50 states. It scores highest on an educated workforce, quiet, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Vermont expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $336,251. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $85,971 median income, cost of living beats 23% of states.
Is Vermont safe?
Yes, Vermont is safer than 83% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Vermont?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 15. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of states.
What are the best areas in Vermont?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Addison County, Chittenden County & Franklin County, and Bennington County & Rutland County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Vermont good for families?
Schools beat 85% of states, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $1,505 a month.
Is Vermont good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 23% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 23% of states. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Vermont with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Vermont. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Vermont 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.
Vermont detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Vermont: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Vermont: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Vermont: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Vermont: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Vermont 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.
- 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.