Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Burke’s best subject grades are an A for history and the outdoors and an A− for civic life; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. Of the 72 Vermont towns we compare, none has a lower January low than Burke. Burke’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile, above both Vermont’s towns (0.6) and U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Darling State Park, 1,507 acres with 11 miles of trail. Burke has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Burke beats most towns.
Toll House
Census counts: 108 in 1800, 1,651 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1951 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 Burke is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Burke, 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 Burke.
Its public schools are run by the Kingdom East Unified Union School District #64. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke Town SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 188 | B |
| Burke Mountain Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 67 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests
Burke has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At 79°F, Burke’s July high is where Vermont’s towns sit at 80°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Burke for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Burke has added 258 jobs, to 542 in 2023. The top destinations are Lyndon (20%), St.
| Burke | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Burke home is worth about $455,000, up 3.1% in a year, 16% above the Vermont typical home. 89% of households own their home in Burke.
| Burke | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $938 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Darling State Park | 11 mi | 1,507 |
| 2. Victory State Forest | — | 16 |
| 3. Darling Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Children under 18 are 23% of residents (18% statewide). Only 6 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of children under 18 than Burke. 41% of Burke adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Burke | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 23% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.1 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Burke | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.8% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.5% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.7% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.1% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.6% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.8% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Only 2 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Burke. Burke beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. Only 4 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Burke.
| Burke | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Burke | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.1% | 10.1% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 25.2% | 18.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Burke since 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Burke. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi MountainMount Washington
12 mi LakeLake Willoughby
29 mi TheatreHaskell Free Library and Opera House
in town Ski areaBurke Mountain Resort61 runs · 1,990 ft vertical
32 mi Ski areaCannon Mountain104 runs · 2,201 ft vertical
36 mi Ski areaJay Peak Resort79 runs · 1,988 ft verticalMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Willoughby: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Haskell Free Library and Opera House: Thomsonmg2000, CC0 · Burke Mountain Resort: Patrick McCaffrey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cannon Mountain: Mikespenard at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jay Peak Resort: Hanumanix at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Burke; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Burke residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
3 places in Burke on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Burke.
Town in Vermont, United States
Burke is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,651 at the 2020 census. The town contains the villages of East Burke, West Burke and Burke Hollow. The town is home to Burke Mountain and Burke Mountain Academy.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Burke.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke | — | — | C− | — | C | B |
| Sutton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kirby | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lyndon | #46 | C+ | C | — | C | B+ |
| East Haven | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Newark | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Victory | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Burke has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Burke and Lyndon report no FBI crime data of their own. Sutton, Kirby, East Haven, Newark and Victory aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Burke with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Yes. That is 6.5 years of the area's median household income ($69,970 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Henrietta A. Bingham and Charles Woodruff.
