Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bennington grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 88% of the state's. Its crime rate is higher than 84% of U.S. towns, with 83 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, it has 48 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 30 places on the National Register. 56% of working residents work locally in Bennington, above both the Vermont town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Bennington Battle Monument and Park-McCullough House. Bennington is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Bennington beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1749, is the earliest of any Vermont town we grade. Its 30 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Vermont towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,377 in 1790, 15,333 in 2020. The archive holds 28 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Bennington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bennington. Close and well known come first.
17 mi MountainMount Greylock
in town LandmarkBennington Battle Monument
12 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
37 mi TheatreTanglewood
16 mi Ski areaMount Snow119 runs · 1,648 ft vertical
14 mi MuseumMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary ArtMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Bennington Battle Monument: Phil Boucher, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Snow: William J Sisti from Morristown, NJ, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: N-Lange.de, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bennington, 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 Bennington.
Bennington is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont; it also reports violent crime at about twice the Vermont rate.
Bennington’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile. Green Mountain National Forest, at 1,296 acres with 2.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Mountain National Forest | 2.7 mi | 1,296 |
| 2. Glastenbury Wilderness | 2.7 mi | 1,111 |
| 3. Willow Park | 0.1 mi | 61 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mount Anthony Union High School District #14. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Anthony Union Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 484 | C− |
| Mt. Anthony Senior Union High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 855 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 5.5 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Vermont rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
The violent crime rate in Bennington is 5.5 per 1,000 residents. Bennington reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 84% report less. The property crime rate in Bennington is 15.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
68.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.4% across Vermont.
The typical Bennington home is worth about $250,000, about the same as a year ago, 36% below the Vermont typical home. 58% of households own their home in Bennington.
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,133 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,764 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bennington’s, it is healthier than 92%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Vermont it is less healthy than 74% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
Bennington beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 15% of Bennington adults report frequent physical distress. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Bennington.
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bennington | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 12.5% | 9.2% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 11.2% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 81.4°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 83% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 13.2°.
Bennington has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 1 have a higher January low than Bennington. About 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 6,362 working residents takes 17.1 minutes, against 23.5 across Vermont.
Only 4 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Bennington. Since 2013, Bennington has lost 490 jobs, to 8,624 in 2023. The top destinations are Arlington (5%), Manchester (4%) and Shaftsbury (3%).
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Vermont average. Bennington has lost 2.4% of its people since 2020, down to 14,953 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Bennington | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 44.7 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 40% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.7 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Bennington | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.3% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.9% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.6% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.8% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.1% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bennington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Bennington
About 6 of every 100 Bennington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Vermont.
30 places in Bennington on the National Register of Historic Places.
42 notable people were born in Bennington.
Town in Vermont, United States
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous town in southern Vermont, the second-largest town in Vermont (after Colchester) and the fifth-largest municipality in the state. The town is home to the Bennington Battle Monument, which is the tallest human-made structure in the state of Vermont. The town has a long history of manufacturing, primarily within wood processing. The town is also recognized nationally for its pottery, iron, and textiles.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bennington.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennington | #70 | D | C− | C− | D | B+ |
| Pownal | #67 | D | C | — | D | B+ |
| Woodford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shaftsbury | #50 | C | C | — | D | A− |
Pownal and Shaftsbury report no FBI crime data of their own. Woodford isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bennington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bennington grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($73,325 across the Bennington, 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−.
42 notable people were born here, including Cynthia Gibb and Ross Powers.
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