Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bradford is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 8th among Vermont's 71 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $108K. A typical home there costs about $294K, 3.5 years of the Lebanon area’s $83K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. On history, just 17 of Vermont’s 172 towns do better. Bradford is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Only 4 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Bradford.
Where Bradford beats most towns.
Census counts: 654 in 1790, 2,790 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and a map from 1931 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Bradford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bradford, 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 Bradford.
Bradford pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Vermont norm, sends many workers across the state line to Lebanon and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont.
Within Vermont it is less healthy than 61% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar. Against the 7,433 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bradford’s, it is healthier than 63%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
29% of Bradford adults sleep under 7 hours, where Vermont’s towns sit at 30% and U.S. towns at 36%. Bradford tracks Vermont closely on all 31 CDC measures. 33% of adults have obesity in Bradford.
| Bradford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 9.1% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Oxbow Unified Union School District #91. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Oxbow Union High School, with 322 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 216 | C+ |
| Oxbow Union High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 322 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Bradford sits near the Vermont town median (14%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%) on this measure. 13 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Bradford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 15% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest | 7.4 mi | 511 |
| 2. Elizabeth's Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Bradford grades A overall with a typical home of about $294K, below the Vermont typical value; only 4 of the 15 Vermont towns graded A− or better can say that.
87% of Bradford households own their home. The typical Bradford home is worth about $294,000, down 1.8% in a year, 25% below the Vermont typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The South Newbury weather station, 5 miles away, records that 66 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 84% of Vermont places with climate records.
Bradford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Bradford is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bradford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
39% of working residents cross a state line to work, Lebanon among the top destinations. Bradford has about as many jobs (1,177) as working residents, but only 269 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Bradford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lebanon (11%), Hanover (9%) and Hartford (7%). Half commute less than 23 miles.
| Bradford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Bradford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 40% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.7 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Bradford | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.8% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.8% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.5% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.5% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.8% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.4% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
Bradford's reported crime rate is well below Vermont's. Bradford’s property crime rate is 2.1 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Bradford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 11.7 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.7 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Bradford; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Bradford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
3 places in Bradford on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Bradford.
Town in Vermont, United States
Bradford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2020 census. Bradford is located on the county's eastern border, bordering both the Connecticut River and New Hampshire, and is a commercial center for some of its surrounding towns.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Bradford.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | #8 | A | B | — | B | A− |
| Newbury | — | — | C+ | — | B | B |
| Corinth | — | — | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Fairlee | — | — | C+ | — | B− | A |
| West Fairlee | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Newbury, Corinth and Fairlee have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bradford, Newbury, Corinth and Fairlee report no FBI crime data of their own. West Fairlee isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bradford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bradford grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #8 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A− for health and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
11 notable people were born here, including Ursula B. Marvin and John Putnam Chapin.
