South Burlington, Winooski, Montpelier: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Vermont. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Green Mountain State.
South Burlington in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $106,667 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 7.2%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Vermont share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey for the 12 places in Vermont with more than 2,000 people.
$106,667 median income · 7.2% poverty · #1 income in Vermont
South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and home to the headquarters of Ben & Jerry’s and Vermont’s largest mall, the University Mall. It is also one in the principal municipalities of the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,522 median income · 13.8% poverty · #3 income in Vermont
Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2010 U.S. Census the municipal population was 7,267. The city is the most densely populated municipality in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is the smallest in area of Vermont’s nine incorporated cities. As part of the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area, it is bordered by Burlington, Colchester, and South Burlington.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,030 median income · 6.5% poverty · #2 income in Vermont
Montpelier is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. As the site of Vermont’s state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. The population was 7,855 at the 2010 census. However, the daytime population swells to about 21,000, due to the large number of jobs within city limits. The Vermont College of Fine Arts and New England Culinary Institute are located in the municipality. It was named for Montpellier, France.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,109 median income · 20.5% poverty · #5 income in Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located 45 miles south of the Canada-United States border and 94 miles south of Canada’s second most populous municipality, Montreal. The city’s population was 42,452 according to a 2015 U.S. census estimate. It is the least populous municipality in the United States to be the most populous incorporated area in a state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$76,587 median income · 11.6% poverty · #4 income in Vermont
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,240 median income · 17.8% poverty · #6 income in Vermont
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$57,980 median income · 19.5% poverty · #9 income in Vermont
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$66,607 median income · 20.1% poverty · #7 income in Vermont
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$65,625 median income · 17.3% poverty · #8 income in Vermont
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$57,675 median income · 15.3% poverty · #10 income in Vermont
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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: 10.1%
Vermont statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where the money lives in Vermont
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the richest places in Vermont for 2026
The first thing most people reach for is personal income. After all, rich people have really high salaries. But one statistic doesn’t capture what it means to be one of the “richest places,” so we applied Saturday Night Science to two measures from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Median household income
- Median home value
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is, and home values are a measure of accumulated wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After collecting the data for all 12 places in Vermont with more than 2,000 people, we ranked each place from 1 to 12 on both criteria, then averaged the two ranks into a “Rich Score.” The place with the lowest Rich Score, South Burlington, is crowned the richest city in Vermont for 2026.
The full plate
All 12 richest cities in Vermont, ranked
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Rich Score | Population | Median income | Median home value | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Burlington | 1.50 | 20,756 | $106,667 | $481,493 | 7.2% | 3.9% |
| 2 | Winooski | 3.00 | 8,293 | $79,522 | $427,517 | 13.8% | 1.2% |
| 3 | Montpelier | 3.00 | 8,014 | $81,030 | $414,351 | 6.5% | 2.4% |
| 4 | Burlington | 3.00 | 44,675 | $71,109 | $506,784 | 20.5% | 4.3% |
| 5 | Vergennes | 5.50 | 2,565 | $76,587 | $357,849 | 11.6% | 1.6% |
| 6 | Morrisville | 6.00 | 2,664 | $68,240 | $360,432 | 17.8% | 2.8% |
| 7 | St. Albans | 7.00 | 6,954 | $57,980 | $361,249 | 19.5% | 1.8% |
| 8 | Swanton | 7.50 | 2,670 | $66,607 | $340,862 | 20.1% | 3.0% |
| 9 | Barre | 8.50 | 8,412 | $65,625 | $300,280 | 17.3% | 4.5% |
| 10 | Rutland | 10.00 | 15,712 | $57,675 | $276,480 | 15.3% | 4.4% |
| 11 | Bellows Falls | 11.50 | 2,891 | $56,086 | $235,015 | 25.1% | 11.7% |
| 12 | Newport | 11.50 | 4,394 | $54,646 | $254,527 | 23.0% | 9.1% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 12 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
South Burlington is the richest place in Vermont for 2026
When we set out to identify the richest places in Vermont, we weren’t sure what we’d find, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in the state. The richest cities in Vermont are South Burlington, Winooski, and Montpelier, and when you look at the data they sit at the very top of the income ladder for everyone who lives there.
Breaking into the top ten takes a median household income of at least $57,675. If you’re curious about the other end of the ledger, the poorest places are listed to the right.