Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pownal grades D overall, ranked 67th of 71 in Vermont, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 88% of Vermont towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it has 48 miles of trail. 23% of the land in Pownal is conserved, against 14% in Vermont’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Green Mountain National Forest, 4,178 acres with 11.4 miles of trail. Only 3 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a higher share of households owning their home than Pownal.
Where Pownal beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,746 in 1790, a low of 1,396 in 1920, 3,258 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1898 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Pownal is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pownal. Close and well known come first.
11 mi MountainMount Greylock
6 mi MuseumClark Art Institute
7 mi LandmarkBennington Battle Monument
8 mi MuseumMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
31 mi TheatreTanglewood
35 mi MuseumNorman Rockwell MuseumMount Greylock: Jstergis, CC BY 3.0 · Clark Art Institute: Daderot, Public domain · Bennington Battle Monument: Phil Boucher, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art: N-Lange.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanglewood: Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Norman Rockwell Museum: User:Rmrfstar, CC BY 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pownal, 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 Pownal.
Pownal is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has home values still below their peak and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont.
At 1.0 miles per square mile, Pownal’s trail density is where Vermont’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Mountain National Forest | 11.4 mi | 4,178 |
| 2. Mountain Meadow Preserve | 1.4 mi | 64 |
| 3. Taconic Ridge State Forest | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pownal Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 249 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Pownal has 166 jobs for its 1,152 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Pownal for work: only 7% work in town. The median household income in Pownal is $64,000. The top destinations are Bennington (42%), Williamstown (9%) and Arlington (4%).
| Pownal | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 6.5% | 16% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.6% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $281K, is 8% below its October 2023 peak.
The typical Pownal home is worth about $281,000, down 0.6% in a year, 28% below the Vermont typical home. Pownal’s median rent is $944 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,759 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pownal’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Vermont it is less healthy than 76% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
Pownal beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 30% of Pownal adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Pownal | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pownal | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 13.9% | 11.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8% | 6.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Sunderland 2 weather station, 21 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 137 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 81% of Vermont places with climate records. July afternoons average 81°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 79% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 13.5°.
Pownal has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. No town among the 71 in Vermont we compare has a higher January low than Pownal. About 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Pownal | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 14°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pownal.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Pownal
About 1 of every 100 Pownal residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Pownal’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Pownal.
Town in Vermont, United States
Pownal is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,258. The town of Pownal includes the villages of Pownal, North Pownal, and Pownal Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Pownal.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pownal | #67 | D | C | — | D | B+ |
| Bennington | #70 | D | C− | C− | D | B+ |
| Stamford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woodford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Pownal reports no FBI crime data of its own. Stamford and Woodford aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pownal with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pownal grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #67 of 71 in Vermont. It grades B+ for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($73,325 across the Bennington, 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.
5 notable people were born here, including Abraham B. Gardner and Grace Greylock Niles.
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