Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,921, settled in 1892.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex Junction grades A overall, 5th among Vermont's 71 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country. Its schools outperform 85% of the state's and the median household earns $89K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $408K, 4.4 years of the Burlington metro’s $93K median household income. Essex Junction’s trail density is 2.9 miles per square mile, where Vermont’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Essex Junction is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. On history, just 4 of Vermont’s 172 towns do worse.
Where Essex Junction beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Essex Junction | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 10.1% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Summit Street School | PK–3 | 305 |
| Hiawatha Elementary School | PK–3 | 203 |
| Thomas Fleming School | 4–5 | 197 |
18.2% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Essex Junction is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,141 in 1900, 10,590 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 5 maps from 1906 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Essex Junction, 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 Essex Junction.
Essex Junction has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Vermont, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Burlington and other neighbors.
At 2.9 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #2 of 70 Vermont towns.
14 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maple Street Park | 0.8 mi | 19 |
| 2. Stevens Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 3. Pearl Street Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $408K.
Its public schools are run by Essex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #51. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Essex High School, with 1,224 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Street SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 305 | A− |
| Essex High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,224 | A− |
| Hiawatha Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 203 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Vermont is tooth loss: 5.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.1% statewide.
25% of adults have high blood pressure in Essex Junction, below both Vermont’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (35%). 23% of Essex Junction adults have obesity. Only 5 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Essex Junction.
| Essex Junction | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 30% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 6.6% | 9.1% | 12% |
| What stands out | Essex Junction | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.6% | 6.3% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.4% | 76.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Essex Junction 1 N weather station records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Essex Junction 1 N weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 160 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 88% of Vermont places with climate records.
Essex Junction has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Essex Junction’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Essex Junction has about as many jobs (5,500) as working residents, but only 633 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 7,163 in 2013 to 5,500.
Most working residents leave Essex Junction for work: only 11% work in town. The average trip to work in Essex Junction is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Essex Junction fell to 5,500 in 2023, 1,663 fewer than in 2013.
| Essex Junction | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 17% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 15% of residents (22% statewide). 52% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Essex Junction. Essex Junction has grown 3% since 2020, to 10,921 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Essex Junction | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 39% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Essex Junction | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.6% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.9% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.6% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.6% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.5% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.9% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
61.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.4% across Vermont.
The median sale price was $335,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Essex Junction. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi LakeLake Champlain
15 mi MountainMount Mansfield
16 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
10 mi MuseumShelburne Museum
40 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
17 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable ChasmLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0 · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Essex Junction
About 7 of every 100 Essex Junction residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Vermont.
9,271 counted in 2010 and 10,590 in 2020; an estimated 10,921 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 notable people were born in Essex Junction.
City in Vermont, United States
Essex Junction is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 10,590. It was incorporated as a village on November 15, 1892. Essex Junction became Vermont's 10th city on July 1, 2022. The city is part of the Essex Westford Unified Union School District which operates K-12 schools including Essex High School. The city is surrounded on three sides by the Town of Essex ("Essex Town"). Essex Junction is home to GlobalFoundries' Burlington Design Center and 200 mm wafer fabrication plant. GlobalFoundries is the largest private employer in the state of Vermont, with approximately 3,000 employees.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Essex Junction.
At #5 in VT, it grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Essex (A−) comes closest.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Junction | #5 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Williston | #25 | B | D | D | A+ | A+ |
| Essex | #13 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
| South Burlington | #26 | B | D | D | A | A+ |
Essex Junction reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Essex Junction with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Essex Junction grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #5 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $408,000, 4% above the Vermont typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Brian Wood and Clayton Eugene Freeman.
