Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fair Haven is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 44th among Vermont's 71 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 58% of Vermont towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $62K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $251K, 3.7 years of the Rutland area’s $69K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. 25% of the land in Fair Haven is conserved, against 14% in Vermont’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On health, just 11 of Vermont’s 172 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Bomoseen State Park, at 1,058 acres.
Where Fair Haven beats most towns.
Census counts: 545 in 1790, 2,736 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Fair Haven is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fair Haven, 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 Fair Haven.
Fair Haven is healthier than towns with similar incomes and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont; it also has poverty well above the Vermont rate.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fair Haven.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Slate Valley Unified Union School District #62. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Fair Haven Union Middle and High School, with 499 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Haven Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 248 | C− |
| Fair Haven Union Middle and High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 499 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Fair Haven’s median rent is $830 a month, below both the Vermont town median ($1,137 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 5.1% in the year to September 2026. 81% of Fair Haven households own their home.
| Fair Haven | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $830 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,296 working residents takes 30.9 minutes, against 23.5 across Vermont.
Most working residents leave Fair Haven for work: only 13% work in town. The average trip to work in Fair Haven is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Fair Haven grew to 750 in 2023, 72 more than in 2013.
| Fair Haven | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bomoseen State Park | 0.5 mi | 1,058 |
| 2. Village Green | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Rutland weather station, 14 miles away, records that 75 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 76% of Vermont places with climate records. July afternoons average 82°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 93% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 10.6°.
Fair Haven has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 4 have a higher July high than Fair Haven. Fair Haven’s January low is 11°F.
| Fair Haven | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 11°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,499 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fair Haven’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Vermont it is less healthy than 96% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
Fair Haven beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 37% of adults have obesity in Fair Haven. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Fair Haven.
| Fair Haven | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 30% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Fair Haven | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 14.9% | 11.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.5% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.3% | 28.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fair Haven. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
14 mi LakeLake George
27 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
29 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
23 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
38 mi State parkGrant Cottage State Historic SiteFort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · Grant Cottage State Historic Site: Coingeek at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Fair Haven; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Fair Haven residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Fair Haven’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Fair Haven on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Fair Haven.
Town in Vermont, United States
Fair Haven is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,736 at the 2020 census. Within the town is located the census-designated place of Fair Haven. The town is noted for its late 19th century residential and commercial architecture.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fair Haven.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Haven | #44 | C+ | C+ | C+ | B | B− |
| West Haven | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Poultney | #45 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Castleton | #15 | A− | C− | A+ | B | A− |
| Benson | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Poultney reports no FBI crime data of its own. West Haven and Benson aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fair Haven with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fair Haven grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #44 of 71 in Vermont. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including John A. Mead and Chittenden Lyon.
