Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Cavendish’s subject grades are an A− for health, an A+ for history, and an A for civic life; the weakest is a C− for schools. On hazard risk, just 10 of Vermont’s 172 towns do worse. Cavendish’s average trip to work is 19 minutes, below both the Vermont town median (23 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). 20% of the land in Cavendish is conserved, above both the Vermont town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Its National Register listings include Glimmerstone and Iron Bridge at Howard Hill Road. Cavendish has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cavendish beats most towns.
Cavendish Universalist Church
Census counts: 491 in 1790, 1,392 in 2020. The archive holds 28 old photos and papers going back to 1785 and 3 maps from 1929 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Cavendish is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cavendish. Close and well known come first.
18 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
7 mi Ski areaOkemo Mountain119 runs · 2,165 ft vertical
26 mi Ski areaStratton Mountain Resort106 runs · 1,899 ft vertical
34 mi Ski areaMount Snow119 runs · 1,648 ft vertical
21 mi Ski areaBromley Mountain Ski Resort;Bromley Mountain67 runs · 1,297 ft vertical
13 mi National Historical ParkSaint-Gaudens National Historical Park28K visitors a yearKillington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Okemo Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stratton Mountain Resort: Rudi Riet from Washington, DC, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mount Snow: William J Sisti from Morristown, NJ, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bromley Mountain Ski Resort;Bromley Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cavendish, 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 Cavendish.
Cavendish beats the Vermont average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 15% of Cavendish adults report frequent mental distress.
| Cavendish | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 76% | 79% |
| What stands out | Cavendish | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.8% | 76.7% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 89.2% | 85.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.9% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavendish Town Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 69 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Cavendish for work: only 10% work in town. Jobs based in Cavendish fell to 264 in 2023, 64 fewer than in 2013. 6.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Cavendish.
| Cavendish | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.7% | 16% | 8% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Proctor Piper State Forest, at 1,468 acres. 8.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Cavendish is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Proctor Piper State Forest | 0.5 mi | 1,468 |
| 2. Knapp Brook Wildlife Management Area | 0.4 mi | 892 |
| 3. Lord State Forest | — | 71 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cavendish has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Cavendish’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 33 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cavendish.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Cavendish home is worth about $342,000, down 1.4% in a year, 13% below the Vermont typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 39% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Cavendish | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 45.2 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 40% | 29% |
Somewhere between 37% and 61% women
The Census survey reached too few of Cavendish’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.8 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Cavendish | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.2% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.9% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.1% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.9% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.4% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cavendish
About 4 of every 100 Cavendish residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
8 places in Cavendish on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Cavendish.
Town in Vermont, United States
Cavendish is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The town was likely named after William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. The population was 1,392 at the 2020 census. The town of Cavendish includes the unincorporated villages of Cavendish and Proctorsville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($83,269 across the Lebanon-Claremont, NH-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 B−.
10 notable people were born here, including Nettie Stevens and Fletcher D. Proctor.
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