Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bellows Falls earns a D, 64th among Vermont's 71 graded towns, mostly because of incomes and schools. The median household income is $56K, and 25% of residents live below the poverty line. Its public schools trail 85% of Vermont towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Bellows Falls, against 9.2% in Vermont’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 8 of Vermont’s 172 towns do worse. Bellows Falls's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Where Bellows Falls beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1753, comes before those of 95% of the Vermont towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 697 in 1870, a peak of 4,883 in 1910, 2,747 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 5 maps from 1927 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Bellows Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellows Falls, 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 Bellows Falls.
Bellows Falls sends many workers across the state line to Walpole and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Vermont (mostly inland flooding).
The typical Bellows Falls home is worth about $236,000, down 1.8% in a year, 40% below the Vermont typical home. 51% of Bellows Falls households own their home.
| Bellows Falls | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,038 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
25% of working residents cross a state line to work, Walpole among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Bellows Falls for work: only 15% work in town. Bellows Falls’ average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Bellows Falls fell to 875 in 2023, 160 fewer than in 2013.
| Bellows Falls | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $56,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Vermont towns, with expected losses of about $513 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Bellows Falls is 68 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Walpole 3 weather station, 5 miles away, records that 60 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 89% of Vermont places with climate records. July afternoons average 81.9°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 92% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 11.2°.
Bellows Falls has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 6 have a higher July high than Bellows Falls.
| Bellows Falls | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 11°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Bellows Falls | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 15% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hetty Green | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 7,752 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bellows Falls’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Vermont it is less healthy than 87% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
Bellows Falls beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Bellows Falls. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Bellows Falls.
| Bellows Falls | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 76% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bellows Falls | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.6% | 10.1% |
| More smokers | 15.5% | 11.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.7% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 42 to 26 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bellows Falls
About 8 of every 100 Bellows Falls residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Vermont.
3,148 counted in 2010 and 2,747 in 2020; an estimated 2,706 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 3.1% since 2020, after 12.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
18 notable people were born in Bellows Falls.
Village in Vermont, United States
Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the annual Roots on the River Festival; and the No Film Film Festival.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bellows Falls.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellows Falls | #64 | D | C | B− | C− | B |
| Rockingham | #62 | C− | C− | — | C− | A− |
| North Westminster | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Westminster | #51 | C | C | — | C− | A− |
Rockingham and Westminster report no FBI crime data of their own. North Westminster isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bellows Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bellows Falls grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #64 of 71 in Vermont. It grades B for health, B− for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($72,217 across the Brattleboro, 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.
18 notable people were born here, including Carlton Fisk and Ernest Thompson.