You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Vermont. Best suburbs in Vermont. Best counties in Vermont.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Green Mountain State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Vermont based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Vermont ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$173,594 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$89,740 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$78,050 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$75,143 median income · 5.8% unemployment
$77,168 median income · 5.0% unemployment
$76,587 median income · 1.6% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$76,250 median income · 7.3% unemployment
$73,064 median income · 2.7% unemployment
Bristol is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The town was founded June 26, 1762. The population was 3,894 at the 2010 census. Main Street is home to most of the businesses of the town. The town is also home to the Lord’s Prayer Rock.
$64,265 median income · 3.1% unemployment
Chester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. Chester is famous for its Stone Village Historic District and Chester Village Historic District. Both districts are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Stone Village section is located along Vermont Route 103 in North Chester, across the Williams River from Chester Center. It is known for the many houses made of local granite. The Chester Factory Village has homes that were built between 1750-1924, and includes Victorian, Colonial Revival and Federal style architecture. Both areas are popular tourist destinations.
$75,069 median income · 4.8% unemployment
Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,853 at the 2000 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that surround it.
When the area was originally settled there were three villagesRandolph Center, East Randolph and West Randolph–the current locations of the three fire departments. What is now the central village of the current town had previously been the village of West Randolph.
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Vermont’s statewide median.
Vermont statewide median: $81,203
Vermont statewide median: $394,038
Vermont statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where Vermont’s best small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Vermont
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Vermont possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 31 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 31, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Vermont. Top of that list — Norwich.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Vermont.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Vermont
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwich | 1,147 | $173,594 | $771,768 | 0.0% |
| 2 | Jericho | 1,346 | $89,740 | $560,399 | 0.0% |
| 3 | South Barre | 1,346 | $78,050 | $320,607 | 0.0% |
| 4 | Wilder | 3,087 | $75,143 | $340,022 | 5.8% |
| 5 | White River Junction | 3,364 | $77,168 | $346,992 | 5.0% |
| 6 | Vergennes | 2,565 | $76,587 | $357,849 | 1.6% |
| 7 | Arlington | 1,623 | $76,250 | $357,267 | 7.3% |
| 8 | Bristol | 2,142 | $73,064 | $389,881 | 2.7% |
| 9 | Chester | 1,298 | $64,265 | $341,365 | 3.1% |
| 10 | Randolph | 2,007 | $75,069 | $344,904 | 4.8% |
| 11 | Swanton | 2,670 | $66,607 | $340,862 | 3.0% |
| 12 | Bradford | 1,097 | $104,306 | $291,592 | 4.1% |
| 13 | North Bennington | 1,336 | $68,571 | $274,769 | 7.0% |
| 14 | Poultney | 1,033 | $70,536 | $299,941 | 12.1% |
| 15 | Morrisville | 2,664 | $68,240 | $360,432 | 2.8% |
| 16 | Milton | 3,555 | $77,550 | $457,022 | 14.2% |
| 17 | Brandon | 1,927 | $59,087 | $297,566 | 0.0% |
| 18 | Windsor | 2,060 | $51,197 | $285,515 | 8.7% |
| 19 | Williamstown | 1,660 | $79,358 | $292,432 | 1.4% |
| 20 | West Rutland | 2,125 | $53,393 | $207,195 | 1.4% |
| 21 | Manchester Center | 2,037 | $54,808 | $447,804 | 3.0% |
| 22 | Newport | 4,394 | $54,646 | $254,527 | 9.1% |
| 23 | Bellows Falls | 2,891 | $56,086 | $235,015 | 11.7% |
| 24 | West Brattleboro | 2,749 | $44,827 | $318,740 | 4.4% |
| 25 | Hardwick | 1,046 | $37,214 | $252,074 | 1.3% |
| 26 | Fair Haven | 2,537 | $66,131 | $234,349 | 1.3% |
| 27 | East Barre | 1,017 | $114,483 | $243,567 | 0.0% |
| 28 | Springfield | 4,237 | $46,760 | $239,335 | 8.8% |
| 29 | Johnson | 1,799 | $48,633 | $339,256 | 14.4% |
| 30 | Richford | 1,573 | $52,083 | $232,645 | 10.0% |
| 31 | Enosburg Falls | 1,570 | $50,870 | $281,257 | 3.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 31 Vermont towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Vermont are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Vermont are Norwich, Jericho, South Barre, Wilder, White River Junction, Vergennes, Arlington, Bristol, Chester, and Randolph.
