Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,565, settled in 1813.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Colchester grades A− overall, ranked 16th of 71 in Vermont. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. Its schools rank ahead of 88% of Vermont towns. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $465K for a typical one and 5 times the Burlington metro’s $93K median household income. Only 3 of Vermont’s 172 towns score higher on hazard risk. Colchester is home to Saint Michael's College.
Where Colchester beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Colchester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 137 in 1790, a low of 137 in 1790, 17,524 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 4 maps from 1915 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Colchester. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town LakeLake Champlain
20 mi MountainMount Mansfield
36 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
22 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
12 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable Chasm
13 mi MuseumShelburne MuseumLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Colchester, 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 Colchester.
Colchester has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Vermont, trades workers with Burlington and other neighbors and has home values climbing faster than Vermont’s.
26% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Colchester, below both the Vermont town median (30%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 25% of Colchester adults have obesity. Colchester beats the Vermont average on 12 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Colchester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 30% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Colchester | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 15.5% | 18.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.8% | 76.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $465K.
Its public schools are run by the Colchester School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Colchester High School, with 715 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 509 | B |
| Colchester High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 715 | B |
| Malletts Bay SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 505 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
58 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. Colchester’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, where Vermont’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Colchester Pond Natural Area, at 646 acres with 3.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Colchester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.2% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Macrae Farm Park | 5 mi | 277 |
| 2. Niquette Bay State Park | 4.3 mi | 579 |
| 3. Sunny Hollow Natural Area | 4.3 mi | 81 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 41 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Colchester.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The S Hero weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 174 days, the highest of 416 Vermont places with climate records. The S Hero weather station, 6 miles away, records that 50 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 99% of Vermont places with climate records.
Colchester has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Colchester is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $465K, against 17% across Vermont.
Colchester’s median rent is $1,474 a month. The typical Colchester home is worth about $465,000, about the same as a year ago, 19% above the Vermont typical home.
| Colchester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,474 a month | $1,133 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Colchester has about as many jobs (9,276) as working residents, but only 1,403 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Colchester for work: only 16% work in town. Since 2013, Colchester has added 1,636 jobs, to 9,276 in 2023. 7% of residents live below the poverty line in Colchester.
| Colchester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 19% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 26% of residents (22% statewide). 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Colchester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 39.3 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 39% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 18% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.2 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Colchester | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.5% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.6% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.1% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.3% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Colchester
About 11 of every 100 Colchester residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
10 notable people were born in Colchester.
Town in Vermont, United States
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the third-most populous municipality and most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester borders Burlington, Vermont's most populous municipality and is part of its metropolitan area. The town is directly to Burlington's north on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, to the west of the Green Mountains. The Vermont National Guard is based in the town, and it is also home to Saint Michael's College and the Vermont campus of Southern New Hampshire University.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Colchester.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | #16 | A− | C− | C+ | A | A |
| Burlington | #43 | C+ | D | D− | B+ | A |
| Milton | #32 | B | C | B | B− | A |
| South Hero | — | — | C− | — | C | A |
| South Burlington | #26 | B | D | D | A | A+ |
| Winooski | #61 | C− | D | C− | D− | A |
| Essex | #13 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
South Hero has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. South Hero reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Colchester with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Colchester grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #16 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
10 notable people were born here, including Donato Giancola and Ray Collins.
