Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rochester’s best subject grades are an A for health and an A− for walkability and history; its weakest is a D for incomes. 10% of residents are under 18 in Rochester, below both Vermont’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (22%). On cost of living, just 11 of Vermont’s 172 towns do better. 42% of the land in Rochester is conserved, where Vermont’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Green Mountain National Forest, 12,532 acres with 8.1 miles of trail. Rochester has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Rochester beats most towns.
Census counts: 215 in 1790, a peak of 1,507 in 1860, 1,099 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and a map from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Rochester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rochester, 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 Rochester.
20 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Green Mountain National Forest | 8.1 mi | 12,532 |
| 2. Joseph Battell Wilderness | 4.1 mi | 2,954 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Rochester Stockbridge Unified School District #81. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 85 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Rochester beats the Vermont average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in Rochester.
| Rochester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 9.5% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rochester | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.8% | 16.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 9.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.4% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
32% of Rochester residents are 65 or older. Only 4 of the 72 Vermont towns we compare have a higher median age than Rochester. Rochester has lost 2.3% of its people since 2020, down to 1,073 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Rochester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.3 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 32% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 40% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.9 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Rochester | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.6% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.4% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 20.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.1% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.5% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.7% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.8% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.2% | 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 · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents leave Rochester for work: only 6% work in town. Rochester’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. The top destinations are Bethel (14%), Randolph (13%) and Royalton (8%).
| Rochester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.3% | 16% | 8% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rochester has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Rochester is 78°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rochester.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Rochester home is worth about $342,000, up 4.9% in a year, 13% below the Vermont typical home.
| Rochester | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $929 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rochester. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
40 mi LakeLake George
19 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
19 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft vertical
13 mi National forestGreen Mountain National Forest
33 mi Ski areaOkemo Mountain119 runs · 2,165 ft verticalFort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake George: Sixlocal, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Killington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Green Mountain National Forest: Brian W. Schaller, FAL · Okemo Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rochester
About 0 of every 100 Rochester residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
3 notable people were born in Rochester.
Town in Vermont
Rochester is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,099 at the 2020 census. The central village is delineated as the Rochester census-designated place.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($83,269 across the Lebanon-Claremont, NH-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 B.
3 notable people were born here, including James Whitcomb and William Wildman Campbell.
