Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Sheldon’s subject grades are an A− for history and a B+ for incomes. On cost of living, just 6 of Vermont’s 172 towns do better. 19% of the land in Sheldon is conserved, above both Vermont’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). No town in Vermont scores lower than Sheldon on the outdoors. Sheldon's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Sheldon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sheldon beats most towns.
Census counts: 40 in 1790, 2,136 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1941 and 4 maps from 1920 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 Sheldon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sheldon, 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 Sheldon.
Its public schools are run by the Northern Mountain Valley Unified Union School District #85. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 337 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Sheldon for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Sheldon has lost 229 jobs, to 418 in 2023. 5.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Sheldon, below both the Vermont town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Sheldon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.8% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2.2 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. No town among the 72 in Vermont we compare has a lower trail density than Sheldon.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Sheldon has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Sheldon’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Sheldon home is worth about $345,000, up 4.7% in a year, 12% below the Vermont typical home. 89% of households own their home in Sheldon.
| Sheldon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,286 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sheldon beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 38% of Sheldon adults have obesity. Among 72 Vermont towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Sheldon.
| Sheldon | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 30% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 76% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sheldon | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.5% | 10.1% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.8% | 28.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 11.8% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Sheldon; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Sheldon residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Sheldon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Sheldon.
Town in Vermont, United States
Sheldon is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,136 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated community of Sheldon Springs.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sheldon.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon | — | — | B | — | C+ | B |
| Enosburgh | #39 | B− | B | — | C+ | B |
| Fairfield | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Highgate | #35 | B− | B | — | B+ | B− |
| Swanton | #37 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
Sheldon and Fairfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Sheldon, Enosburgh, Fairfield, Highgate and Swanton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sheldon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($93,043 across the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Heber C. Kimball and Bob Laraba.
