Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Northfield's schools rank behind 96% of the state's. Overall it grades B−, 34th among Vermont's 71 graded towns. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns and residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Northfield is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. Northfield is home to Norwich University. Among 37 Vermont towns, just 3 have a lower violent crime rate than Northfield.
Where Northfield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Slaughterhouse Covered Bridge| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Northfield Elementary School | PK–5 | 263 |
| Northfield Middle/High School | 6–12 | 254 |
Census counts: 204 in 1800, a low of 204 in 1800, 5,918 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Northfield is from typical.
Its grades run from A for safety (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for schools (better than 4%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Northfield, 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 Northfield.
Northfield has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Vermont; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Vermont (mostly inland flooding).
Public schools: the Paine Mountain Union School District #68. Its two schools are below. The 2 public schools in Northfield teach 517 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 263 | B |
| Northfield Middle/High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 254 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 21 to 5 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Among 37 Vermont towns, just 3 have a lower property offense rate than Northfield.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Vermont it is healthier than 51% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
The share of adults in Northfield who binge drink is 18%, where Vermont’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 16%. 71% of adults had a checkup this year here. Only 6 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Northfield. Against the Vermont average, Northfield comes out ahead on 6 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 6.
| Northfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 76% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Northfield | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults with high blood pressure | 26.3% | 31.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.4% | 10.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
23 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Norwich University Land, 851 acres with 14.3 miles of trail. Northfield’s concentration of trails stands at 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Northfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Norwich University Land | 14.3 mi | 851 |
| 2. Northfield Municipal Forest | 5.5 mi | 403 |
| 3. Northfield Falls Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 34% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (39% statewide). The share of residents in Northfield who are under 18 is 15%, below both Vermont’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (22%). The midpoint age for Northfield comes to 36.4 years. Just over a third of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 44% across Vermont.
| Northfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 36.4 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 22% | 18% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.3 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Northfield | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.4% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 21% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.9% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.6% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.9% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Northfield weather station records that about 6 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Expect July afternoons of 79° and January nights of 7°, with about 76 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Vermont towns, with expected losses of about $127 per resident a year; that rating is what its B− for hazard risk is built on.
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Northfield after 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Its FEMA hazard score is 67 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims here since 2011: 34. 81% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
63.3% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.4% across Vermont.
The median rent in Northfield is $1,018 a month. In Northfield, nearly three quarters of households own their home.
| Northfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,018 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Half of commuters travel less than 9 miles. For working residents in Northfield, the share who work locally is 24%. The top destinations are Montpelier (9%), Berlin (8%) and Barre (7%). In Northfield, the average trip to work is 27 minutes.
| Northfield | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Northfield. Close and well known come first.
28 mi MountainMount Mansfield
11 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft vertical
37 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
27 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
12 mi Ski areaMad River Glen77 runs · 1,998 ft vertical
23 mi National forestGreen Mountain National ForestMount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Killington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mad River Glen: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Green Mountain National Forest: Brian W. Schaller, FAL
4 within 15 miles of the center of Northfield
College town 15 of every 100 Northfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
9 places in Northfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Northfield.
Town in Vermont, United States
Northfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the village of Northfield, where over half of the population lives. The town's total population was 5,918 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Northfield.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | #34 | B− | C | A | D− | A− |
| Waitsfield | — | — | C− | — | A | A+ |
| Williamstown | #59 | C− | C | — | D− | B+ |
| Berlin | #48 | C | C+ | D− | B+ | A |
| Moretown | — | — | B | — | A | A+ |
Waitsfield and Moretown have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Waitsfield, Williamstown and Moretown report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Northfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Northfield grades B− overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #34 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A− for health, A for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes, by national standards. Northfield reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade: 0 violent and 5 property crimes in 2025.
That is 3.8 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 C.
10 notable people were born here, including Jay Hayden and Charles Albert Plumley.
