Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hartford grades B overall, 28th of 71 graded towns in Vermont. It is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns. Its public schools beat 75% of Vermont towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $432K, 5.2 years of the Lebanon area’s $83K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 20 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Dewey House and Taftsville Covered Bridge. Hartford’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, against 0.6 in Vermont’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Hartford is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Hartford beats most towns.
Taftsville Covered Bridge
Its 20 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Vermont towns with a listing.
Census counts: 988 in 1790, 10,686 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1786 and 3 maps from 1906 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Hartford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hartford. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
25 mi Ski areaOkemo Mountain119 runs · 2,165 ft vertical
11 mi National Historical ParkSaint-Gaudens National Historical Park28K visitors a year
8 mi Ski areaSaskadena Six38 runs · 618 ft vertical
6 mi MuseumHood Museum of Art
39 mi National forestGreen Mountain National ForestKillington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Okemo Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Saskadena Six: Jared C. Benedict, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hood Museum of Art: Daderot, CC0 · Green Mountain National Forest: Brian W. Schaller, FAL
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hartford, 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 Hartford.
Hartford draws workers from Lebanon and beyond and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont; it also has seen reported crime rise by about half.
In the comparison, Hartford comes where Vermont’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 57 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Hartford Town Forest, at 363 acres with 11 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hartford Town Forest | 11 mi | 363 |
| 2. Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge | 3.4 mi | 176 |
| 3. Green Mountain National Forest | 2.4 mi | 257 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Hartford School District. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hartford High School, with 506 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Memorial Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 280 | B− |
| Hartford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 506 | C− |
| Ottauquechee SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 180 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
8,891 jobs are based in Hartford, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 40% of working residents cross a state line to work, Lebanon among the top destinations.
About one in 4 of Hartford’s working residents works in town. Hartford’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Lebanon (23%), Hanover (12%) and Norwich (2%).
| Hartford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
74% of adults had a checkup this year in Hartford. Hartford tracks Vermont closely on all 31 CDC measures. 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Hartford.
| Hartford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 76% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 19% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Hanover weather station, 6 miles away, records that 61 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 87% of Vermont places with climate records. July afternoons average 81.9°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 92% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 9.5°.
Hartford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 6 have a higher July high than Hartford. The January low in Hartford is 10°F.
| Hartford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hartford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes rose from 139 to 218 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Typical home values rose 5% in the year to September 2026. 68% of Hartford households own their home.
| Hartford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,218 a month | $1,133 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hartford has grown 2.1% since 2020, to 10,911 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 48% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Hartford | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 39% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 19% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.2 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 45.8, men 38.3.
| Hartford | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.9% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.7% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.8% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.8% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Hartford
About 5 of every 100 Hartford residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Hartford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
20 places in Hartford on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Hartford.
Town in Vermont, United States
Hartford is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It is on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White and Connecticut rivers; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town. The town is composed of five unincorporated villages: Hartford, Quechee, West Hartford, White River Junction and Wilder. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,686.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Hartford.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | #28 | B | C− | C+ | A− | A |
| Wilder | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| White River Junction | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pomfret | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woodstock | #21 | B+ | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Hartland | #52 | C | D | — | C+ | A |
| Norwich | #1 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Woodstock and Hartland report no FBI crime data of their own. Wilder, White River Junction and Pomfret aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hartford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Hartford grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #28 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−.
11 notable people were born here, including Horace Wells and Phillips Lord.
