Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pawlet’s best subject grades are an A for civic life and history and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. Pawlet’s average trip to work is 33 minutes, above both the Vermont town median (23 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). 22% of the land in Pawlet is conserved, above both the Vermont town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is North Pawlet Hills Natural Area, 1,407 acres with 6.7 miles of trail. Pawlet has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Pawlet beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,458 in 1790, a peak of 2,233 in 1810, 1,424 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1834 and 3 maps from 1894 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Pawlet is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pawlet, 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 Pawlet.
Most working residents leave Pawlet for work: only 16% work in town. The median household income in Pawlet is $62,000. Jobs based in Pawlet grew to 300 in 2023, 25 more than in 2013.
| Pawlet | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $62,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Mettawee School District #84. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mettawee Community SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 124 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests
34 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Pawlet’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Pawlet Hills Natural Area | 6.7 mi | 1,407 |
| 2. TNC (Future) | 1.4 mi | 220 |
| 3. Friends of Haystack | 0.4 mi | 66 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Pawlet has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 11° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pawlet beats the Vermont average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Pawlet. Only 4 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Pawlet.
| Pawlet | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Pawlet | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.2% | 76.7% |
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 79.2% | 76.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Pawlet home is worth about $332,000, up 5.7% in a year, 15% below the Vermont typical home. 88% of Pawlet households own their home.
| Pawlet | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,153 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (22% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Pawlet has lost 2.8% of its people since 2020, down to 1,380 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Pawlet | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 47.9 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 40% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 19% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 69% are men (VT 49%).
| Pawlet | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.7% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.6% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.5% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.2% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.6% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.7% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.7% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.1% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.9% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.5% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pawlet.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pawlet. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
26 mi LakeLake George
27 mi LandmarkFort William Henry
25 mi Theme parkGreat Escape
26 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
30 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 Pawlet; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Pawlet residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
3 places in Pawlet on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Pawlet.
Town in Vermont, United States
Pawlet is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,424 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.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Yes. That is 4.8 years of the area's median household income ($68,616 across the Rutland, 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−.
7 notable people were born here, including Hiram Walden and Frederick Whiting Adams.
