East DorsetVT
A town settled in 1826, now home to 177 people.
Is East Dorset a good place to live?
No town among the 72 in Vermont we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than East Dorset. East Dorset has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
177 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to East Dorset: who provides what
East Dorset is unincorporated, so Bennington County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in East Dorset.
More middle-aged adults than Vermont overall
Just over half of East Dorset adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Adults 35 to 64 are nearly three in five residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 10% of residents (22% statewide). The age of the median resident for East Dorset comes to 51.8 years.
| East Dorset | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.8 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 51% | 40% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 30% and 63% women
The Census survey reached too few of East Dorset’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±16.3 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| East Dorset | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.2% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.4% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 28.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 26.6% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 1.7% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.9% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.7% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 28% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 200, single groups can be off by several points
Most of East Dorset’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.7 jobs for each of them
For half of commuters, work is under 11 miles away. East Dorset had 66 jobs in 2023, up 32 from 2013. The top destinations are Dorset (21%), Manchester (17%) and Rutland (7%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in East Dorset
Expect July afternoons of 80° and January nights of 10°, with about 75 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazards: low risk in East Dorset, mostly inland flooding
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in East Dorset than in 67% of U.S. communities. 64% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 23%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
How healthy East Dorset is
The share of adults in East Dorset who have high blood pressure: 35%. This Vermont town beats the Vermont average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than East Dorset. In East Dorset, 15% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 6.1% worry about having enough food.
| East Dorset | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 6.1% | 9.5% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | East Dorset | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 9.2% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| More adults with arthritis | 32.1% | 27.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.7% of East Dorset is conserved land
1.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. East Dorset has one park or preserve, 10 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Mountain National Forest | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lake George and 38 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Dorset. Close and well known come first.
38 mi LakeLake George
37 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
35 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
28 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
4 mi Ski areaBromley Mountain Ski Resort;Bromley Mountain67 runs · 1,297 ft vertical
11 mi Ski areaStratton Mountain Resort106 runs · 1,899 ft verticalPhoto credits
Lake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort William Henry: IrisKawling at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Great Escape: Jared and Corin, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Killington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bromley Mountain Ski Resort;Bromley Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stratton Mountain Resort: Rudi Riet from Washington, DC, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Everything we know about East Dorset
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of East Dorset; the nearest are
About 10 of every 100 East Dorset residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
99% of working residents leave East Dorset for work
Where East Dorset’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About East Dorset
Census-designated place in Vermont, United States
East Dorset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Dorset, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, East Dorset had a population of 296. It is in northern Bennington County, in the eastern part of the town of Dorset, in a valley between Mount Aeolus of the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. The Batten Kill rises at East Dorset and flows south and west to the Hudson River in New York. U.S. Route 7 passes through East Dorset, leading north 26 miles (42 km) to Rutland and south 28 miles (45 km) to Bennington. East Dorset is home to the first m…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 787 ft
- ZIP code
- 05253
Questions about East Dorset
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is East Dorset, VT a good place to live?
East Dorset has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.