Like all states, Vermont has certain places that are going on hard times. These Vermont places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Vermont.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 12 cities in Vermont with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Vermont For 2026:
What’s the poorest city in Vermont? According to the facts, Bellows Falls is the poorest place in Vermont for 2026.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Vermont reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Vermont
- Cheapest Places To Live In Vermont
- Most Dangerous Cities In Vermont
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Vermont For 2026
1. Bellows Falls
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Bellows Falls, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Vermont thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 2,891 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in Vermont and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Newport
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The second poorest city in Vermont is Newport.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the Green Mountain State.
3. St. Albans
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Population: 6,954
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $57,980 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.5% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,354
More on St. Albans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Placing as the third poorest city, St. Albans’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 19.48% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Green Mountain State.
4. Swanton
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Swanton ranks as the fourth poorest place in Vermont.
The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Rutland
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Population: 15,712
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $57,675 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.3% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,407
More on Rutland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The fifth poorest city in Vermont is Rutland.
The city ranks as having the 3rd lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 8th highest in Vermont.
Still not the best news for Rutland.
6. Burlington
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Population: 44,675
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $71,109 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 20.4% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 9,136
More on Burlington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Burlington ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Green Mountain State.
It ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and the 5th highest unemployment rate.
7. Barre
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Population: 8,412
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Median Income: $65,625 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.3% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,454
More on Barre: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Barre places as the seventh poorest city in Vermont.
The city of over 8,412 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Morrisville
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Population: 2,664
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $68,240 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.8% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 474
More on Morrisville: Data | Movers
Morrisville ranks as the eighth poorest city in Vermont.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Vergennes
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Vergennes couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Vermont; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Vergennes ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Vermont.
10. Winooski
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Population: 8,293
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $79,522 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 13.8% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,142
More on Winooski: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Vermont is Winooski.
The city of 8,293 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Green Mountain State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Vermont for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 12 places with more than 2,000 people in Vermont, we ranked each place from 1 to 12 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Bellows Falls, crowned the “Poorest Place In Vermont For 2026”.
This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in Vermont.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Vermont For 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Vermont, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Vermont.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Vermont, according to data:
- Richest: Montpelier
2nd Richest: South Burlington
3rd Richest: Winooski
For more Vermont reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Vermont
- Safest Places In Vermont
- Worst Places To Live In Vermont
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Vermont
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Vermont
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bellows Falls | 2,891 | 25.1% | $56,086 | 725 |
| 2 | Newport | 4,394 | 23.0% | $54,646 | 1,010 |
| 3 | St. Albans | 6,954 | 19.5% | $57,980 | 1,354 |
| 4 | Swanton | 2,670 | 20.1% | $66,607 | 536 |
| 5 | Rutland | 15,712 | 15.3% | $57,675 | 2,407 |
| 6 | Burlington | 44,675 | 20.4% | $71,109 | 9,136 |
| 7 | Barre | 8,412 | 17.3% | $65,625 | 1,454 |
| 8 | Morrisville | 2,664 | 17.8% | $68,240 | 474 |
| 9 | Vergennes | 2,565 | 11.6% | $76,587 | 297 |
| 10 | Winooski | 8,293 | 13.8% | $79,522 | 1,142 |
| 11 | South Burlington | 20,756 | 7.2% | $106,667 | 1,496 |
| 12 | Montpelier | 8,014 | 6.5% | $81,030 | 517 |