Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Orwell’s subject grades are an A for health, history, and civic life; the weakest is a C− for incomes. 32% of the land in Orwell is conserved, above both the Vermont town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Its National Register listings include Mount Independence and Wilcox-Cutts House. Orwell has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Orwell beats most towns.
Mount Independence
Census counts: 778 in 1790, a peak of 1,849 in 1810, 1,239 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 4 maps from 1894 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Orwell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orwell, 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 Orwell.
The share of adults in Orwell who have been diagnosed with depression: 25%. This Vermont town does better than the Vermont average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 3. Only 2 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Orwell. Also worth knowing: 15% of Orwell adults binge drink, against 16% in Vermont’s towns and 16% across U.S. towns.
| Orwell | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 76% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 9.5% | 14% |
| What stands out | Orwell | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.9% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 9.2% |
| More adults with arthritis | 31.4% | 27.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below. Orwell’s only public school teaches 115 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orwell Village SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 115 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Of the losses FEMA expects in Orwell, 61% come from inland flooding and 9% from hurricanes. On expected storm and flood damage, Orwell sits below 87% of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to Orwell households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2014.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9.2 miles of trail. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 6 have a lower trail network density than Orwell.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Orwell for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Orwell has added 65 jobs, to 226 in 2023. Half the trips to work are shorter than 16 miles. The top destinations are Middlebury (37%), Shoreham (7%) and Rutland (4%).
| Orwell | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5.3% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 11° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
87% of Orwell households own their home. The median rent in the town is $1,105 a month.
| Orwell | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,105 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Orwell. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
19 mi LakeLake George
38 mi MountainMount Marcy
35 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
38 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
28 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft verticalFort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Marcy: Daniel Tripp, Public domain · 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Orwell
About 4 of every 100 Orwell residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in Orwell on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Orwell.
Town in Vermont, United States
Orwell is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,239 at the 2020 census. Mount Independence was the largest fortification constructed by the American colonial forces. The 300-acre (1.2 km2) site is now one of Vermont's premier state-operated historic sites.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.3 years of the area's median household income ($89,639 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
8 notable people were born here, including William Pitt Kellogg and Louis Winslow Austin.
