Most Americans have never been to small town Vermont. However, as the Vermonter who live there know, small town Vermont is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Vermont has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Green Mountain State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 33 of Vermont’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Vermont where you’d never want to live:
3.7% unemployment · $50,870 median income
10.0% unemployment · $52,083 median income
14.4% unemployment · $48,633 median income
9.1% unemployment · $54,646 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.0% unemployment · $54,808 median income
8.8% unemployment · $46,760 median income
4.4% unemployment · $44,827 median income
11.7% unemployment · $56,086 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.5% unemployment · $1,000 median income
0.0% unemployment · $114,483 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Vermont’s statewide median.
Vermont statewide median: $394,038
Vermont statewide median: $81,203
Vermont statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where Vermont’s worst small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Vermont is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Vermont, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 33 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the worst small places to live in Vermont.
The full plate
Worst Small Towns In Vermont
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enosburg Falls | 1,570 | 3.7% | $281,257 | $50,870 |
| 2 | Richford | 1,573 | 10.0% | $232,645 | $52,083 |
| 3 | Johnson | 1,799 | 14.4% | $339,256 | $48,633 |
| 4 | Newport | 4,394 | 9.1% | $254,527 | $54,646 |
| 5 | Manchester Center | 2,037 | 3.0% | $447,804 | $54,808 |
| 6 | Springfield | 4,237 | 8.8% | $239,335 | $46,760 |
| 7 | West Brattleboro | 2,749 | 4.4% | $318,740 | $44,827 |
| 8 | Bellows Falls | 2,891 | 11.7% | $235,015 | $56,086 |
| 9 | Castleton | 1,052 | 9.5% | $324,064 | $1,000 |
| 10 | East Barre | 1,017 | 0.0% | $243,567 | $114,483 |
| 11 | West Rutland | 2,125 | 1.4% | $207,195 | $53,393 |
| 11 | Windsor | 2,060 | 8.7% | $285,515 | $51,197 |
| 13 | Fair Haven | 2,537 | 1.3% | $234,349 | $66,131 |
| 13 | Randolph | 2,007 | 4.8% | $344,904 | $75,069 |
| 15 | North Bennington | 1,336 | 7.0% | $274,769 | $68,571 |
| 16 | Brandon | 1,927 | 0.0% | $297,566 | $59,087 |
| 16 | Milton | 3,555 | 14.2% | $457,022 | $77,550 |
| 18 | Williamstown | 1,660 | 1.4% | $292,432 | $79,358 |
| 19 | Morrisville | 2,664 | 2.8% | $360,432 | $68,240 |
| 20 | Poultney | 1,033 | 12.1% | $299,941 | $70,536 |
| 21 | Hardwick | 1,046 | 1.3% | $252,074 | $37,214 |
| 22 | Swanton | 2,670 | 3.0% | $340,862 | $66,607 |
| 23 | White River Junction | 3,364 | 5.0% | $346,992 | $77,168 |
| 24 | Arlington | 1,623 | 7.3% | $357,267 | $76,250 |
| 25 | Stowe | 1,003 | 12.7% | $1,052,355 | $85,031 |
| 26 | Vergennes | 2,565 | 1.6% | $357,849 | $76,587 |
| 26 | Bristol | 2,142 | 2.7% | $389,881 | $73,064 |
| 28 | Chester | 1,298 | 3.1% | $341,365 | $64,265 |
| 29 | Bradford | 1,097 | 4.1% | $291,592 | $104,306 |
| 30 | Wilder | 3,087 | 5.8% | $340,022 | $75,143 |
| 31 | South Barre | 1,346 | 0.0% | $320,607 | $78,050 |
| 32 | Norwich | 1,147 | 0.0% | $771,768 | $173,594 |
| 33 | Jericho | 1,346 | 0.0% | $560,399 | $89,740 |
Source: FBI crime data + U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 33 Vermont towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Vermont
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Green Mountain State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Vermont are Enosburg Falls, Richford, Johnson, Newport, Manchester Center, Springfield, West Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Castleton, and East Barre. Not sold on Vermont? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Small Towns In Vermont FAQs
What is the worst small town in Vermont?
Enosburg Falls is the worst small town in Vermont for 2026, according to the data. The median household income there is $50,870 and unemployment sits at 3.7%.
What are the worst small towns in Vermont?
The worst small towns in Vermont are Enosburg Falls, Richford, Johnson, Newport, Manchester Center, Springfield, West Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Castleton, and East Barre. We ranked all 33 Vermont towns with between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Why does Enosburg Falls rank as the worst small town?
Enosburg Falls posts the worst combined score on the measures we track: unemployment at 3.7%, a median income of $50,870, and a median home value of $281,257. Low housing demand and dropout rates factor in too.
Which small town in Vermont came out best?
Jericho lands at the bottom of the worst-towns ranking, which makes it the best of the 33 small towns we scored. Our separate best small towns in Vermont ranking covers the happier end in detail.
How serious is this ranking?
The data is real — density, unemployment, housing demand, income, dropouts, and crime — but the framing is infotainment. If you love your small town, the numbers will not change that; they just say times are tougher in these 33 places.
