Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Barre earns a D, better than 7% of U.S. towns, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 43 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 92% of U.S. towns. Its public schools trail 90% of Vermont towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 16 places on the National Register. Barre’s property crime rate is 37.9 per 1,000 residents, above both the Vermont town median (13.6) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Only 1 of Vermont’s 172 towns score lower on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include Socialist Labor Party Hall and Union Co-operative Store Bakery.
Where Barre beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Socialist Labor Party HallSocialist Labor Party Hall is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1916 and 2 maps from 1978 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Barre is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Barre, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Barre.
Barre has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Vermont (mostly inland flooding) and reports violent crime at about twice the Vermont rate.
5.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Barre is 1.3 miles per square mile. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 3 have a lower share of conserved land than Barre.
| Barre | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Currier Park | — | 1 |
| 2. barre dog park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Barre Unified Union School District #97. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Spaulding Union High School, with 610 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Monica-ST. Michael School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 137 | – |
| Spaulding Union High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 610 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 5.2 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Vermont rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Property crime runs at 37.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Vermont rate, most of it theft.
Barre’s violent crime rate is 5.2 per 1,000 residents. Barre reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 92% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Vermont towns, with expected losses of about $464 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 299 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 60 properties have flooded more than once.
No town among the 71 in Vermont we compare has a higher FEMA risk score than Barre. Since 1980, 299 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Barre.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Home values rose 32% in five years, to about $306K, against 17% across Vermont.
The typical Barre home is worth about $306,000, about the same as a year ago, 22% below the Vermont typical home. 50% of households own their home in Barre.
| Barre | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Northfield weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 6 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Barre has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 7° and about 76 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Barre has about as many jobs (4,631) as working residents, but only 868 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Barre’s working residents works in town. 17% of Barre residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Barre has added 633 jobs, to 4,631 in 2023.
| Barre | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 16% | 8% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Only 50.4% of households own their home, against 73.2% across Vermont.
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (18% statewide). Among 71 Vermont towns, just 7 have a lower share of children under 18 than Barre. Barre has lost 3.1% of its people since 2020, down to 8,214 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Barre | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 14% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.2 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
57% women, 43% men
About 75 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.8 points). Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Barre | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.6% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.7% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.6% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.7% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.7% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.7% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.7% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 10,038 U.S. towns with household incomes like Barre’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Only 2 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Barre. Barre beats the Vermont average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 19. Only 4 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Barre.
| Barre | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 76% | 79% |
| What stands out | Barre | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 9% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.1% | 10.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Barre
About 3 of every 100 Barre residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
16 places in Barre on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 towns share a border with Barre.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barre · Barre | #71 | D | C+ | D | D | B− |
| South Barre | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Berlin | #48 | C | C+ | D− | B+ | A |
South Barre isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Barre and Barre are one community, graded once. Compare Barre with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Barre grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns. It grades B− for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($83,449 across the Barre, VT area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
