Best PlacesWashington County, VT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Washington County, 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.
Washington County ranks 754th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Washington County
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 Washington County
The parts of Washington County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Waterbury & Waterbury Center
More households have young kids, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Montpelier
Fewer homes sit empty, though it is noisier.
Barre
Fewer adults hold degrees and tree cover is thinner.
Northfield
Schools score higher, though prices have run up more.
Scores across Washington County run from about the 16th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Washington County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington County ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of counties
Where Washington County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,417 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Washington County
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,099, 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 Washington County's effective rate of 1.73%, 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 Washington County
Washington County 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 Washington County.
Who works in Washington County, and how
Work in Washington County 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 74%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Washington County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Washington County.
Is Washington County growing, and who is moving in?
Washington County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Burlington, VT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Washington County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Washington County, month by month
Washington County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 21° | 12° |
| April | 55° | 42° | 31° |
| July | 82° | 69° | 57° |
| October | 61° | 49° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Washington County
The nearest airport, Patrick Leahy Burlington International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington County
Schools across Washington County average a C+, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bernice A. Ray SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Waitsfield Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Lake View CampusA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frances C. Richmond SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Main Street Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Crossett Brook Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Plattsburgh Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Peru High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Hanover High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington County 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 Washington County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Washington County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Washington County
Is Washington County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington County ranks 754th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on an educated workforce, heat safety, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Washington County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $337,774. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $86,099 median income, cost of living beats 56% of counties.
Is Washington County safe?
Yes, Washington County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Washington County?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 12. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 19% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Washington County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Waterbury & Waterbury Center, Montpelier, and Barre. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Washington County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington County 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.
Washington County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.