Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,400, chartered in 1788.
Fayston’s best subject grades are an A+ for health and an A for schools and civic life; its weakest is a D for cost of living. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fayston, above both the Vermont town median (40%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Only 11 of Vermont’s 172 towns score lower on cost of living. Fayston is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns. 27% of the land in Fayston is conserved, where Vermont’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Camel's Hump State Park, at 3,303 acres with 9.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Fayston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Fayston beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Fayston Elementary School | PK–6 | 123 |
Census counts: 18 in 1800, a low of 18 in 1800, 1,364 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1919 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 Fayston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fayston, 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 Fayston.
Fayston beats the Vermont average on 16 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 23% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Fayston. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Fayston.
| Fayston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fayston | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.5% | 9.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.1% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Harwood Unified Union School District #60. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayston Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 123 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
The typical Fayston home is worth about $565,000, up 2.3% in a year, 44% above the Vermont typical home. The median rent in Fayston is $1,654 a month.
| Fayston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,654 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 87% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
42 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Fayston’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Camel's Hump State Park | 9.6 mi | 3,303 |
| 2. Huntington Gap Wildlife Manangement Area | 1.5 mi | 191 |
| 3. Camels Hump State Forest | 0.4 mi | 99 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of the 72 Vermont towns we compare, none has a lower July high than Fayston. Fayston has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Fayston for work: only 16% work in town. 26% of Fayston workers work from home. Since 2013, Fayston has added 269 jobs, to 647 in 2023.
| Fayston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Fayston since 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fayston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi LakeLake Champlain
Big draw36 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
23 mi MountainMount Mansfield
5 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft vertical
in town Ski areaMad River Glen77 runs · 1,998 ft vertical
22 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft verticalLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Fort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mad River Glen: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fayston
About 3 of every 100 Fayston residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
2 places in Fayston on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Vermont, United States
Fayston () is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,364 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 6.8 years of the area's median household income ($83,449 across the Barre, 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 D.
