Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,542, settled in 1761.
The best of Sharon’s subject grades are an A for health and civic life and an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 2 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Sharon. 21% of the land in Sharon is conserved, where Vermont’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Charles Downer State Forest, at 732 acres with 5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Sharon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sharon beats most towns.
Census counts: 569 in 1790, a low of 470 in 1950, 1,560 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 3 maps from 1896 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 Sharon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sharon, 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 Sharon.
Sharon beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 73% of adults had a checkup this year in Sharon, below both Vermont’s towns (76%) and U.S. towns (79%). 28% of Sharon adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Sharon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 76% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 9.1% | 12% |
| What stands out | Sharon | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults getting a yearly checkup | 72.7% | 76.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sharon School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 156 | B |
| Sharon Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 147 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Sharon for work: only 4% work in town. 3% of residents live below the poverty line in Sharon. Since 2013, Sharon has lost 26 jobs, to 235 in 2023.
| Sharon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charles Downer State Forest | 5 mi | 732 |
| 2. My Walden | 4 mi | 236 |
| 3. White River Wildlife Management Area | 0.3 mi | 572 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide). The median age in Sharon is 45.6 years. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Vermont.
| Sharon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 45.6 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 40% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.8 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Sharon | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.3% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.7% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.3% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.6% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.8% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.7% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 11.5% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.7% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.2% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
Sharon has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Sharon’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sharon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Sharon home is worth about $375,000, up 3% in a year, close to the Vermont typical home.
| Sharon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,386 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sharon. Close and well known come first.
22 mi Ski areaKillington Resort184 runs · 3,031 ft vertical
34 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft vertical
30 mi Ski areaOkemo Mountain119 runs · 2,165 ft vertical
33 mi National forestGreen Mountain National Forest
10 mi Ski areaSaskadena Six38 runs · 618 ft vertical
20 mi National Historical ParkSaint-Gaudens National Historical Park28K visitors a yearKillington Resort: NHRHS2010, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Okemo Mountain: Jrclark (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Green Mountain National Forest: Brian W. Schaller, FAL · Saskadena Six: Jared C. Benedict, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Sharon
About 2 of every 100 Sharon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Sharon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Sharon.
Town in Vermont, United States
Sharon is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It had a population of 1,560 at the 2020 census. Sharon is the birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism. The town is also home to The Sharon Academy, an independent middle and high school.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sharon.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon | — | — | C− | — | C+ | A |
| Pomfret | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Strafford | — | — | C | — | C+ | B+ |
| Royalton | #20 | B+ | C+ | B+ | C+ | A− |
| Norwich | #1 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Sharon and Strafford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Sharon and Strafford report no FBI crime data of their own. Pomfret isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sharon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. 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 Joseph Smith and Jason Downer.
