Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of South Hero’s subject grades are an A for health and civic life and an A− for incomes; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. 62% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in South Hero, against 40% in Vermont’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 8 of Vermont’s 172 towns score higher on incomes. South Hero is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 68% of U.S. towns. South Hero has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them South Hero Inn and South Hero Village Historic District. South Hero has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where South Hero beats most towns.
South Hero Inn
Census counts: 537 in 1790, a low of 537 in 1790, 1,674 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1941 and 6 maps from 1894 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far South Hero is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Hero. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi LakeLake Champlain
25 mi MountainMount Mansfield
34 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
10 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable Chasm
27 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
18 mi MuseumShelburne MuseumLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Hero, 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 South Hero.
South Hero beats the Vermont average on 11 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in South Hero, below both the Vermont town median (30%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 14% of South Hero adults report frequent mental distress.
| South Hero | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | South Hero | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.6% | 9.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 10.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the South Hero School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folsom Education & Community CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 164 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests
The typical South Hero home is worth about $611,000, up 3.5% in a year, 56% above the Vermont typical home. The median rent in South Hero is $1,439 a month.
| South Hero | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,439 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave South Hero for work: only 7% work in town. South Hero’s median household income is $127,000. Since 2013, South Hero has added 41 jobs, to 294 in 2023.
| South Hero | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $127,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
South Hero has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 11° and about 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Hero.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| South Hero | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Causeway Park | — | 6 |
| 2. White's Beach | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of South Hero
About 3 of every 100 South Hero residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where South Hero’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in South Hero.
Town in Vermont, United States
South Hero is a town on Grand Isle in Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States. South Hero's population was 1,674 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with South Hero.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hero | — | — | C− | — | C | A |
| Milton | #32 | B | C | B | B− | A |
| Colchester | #16 | A− | C− | C+ | A | A |
| Grand Isle | — | — | C− | — | C | A |
South Hero and Grand Isle have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. South Hero and Grand Isle report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare South Hero with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 6.6 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 C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Jewett W. Adams and Sarah M. Dawson Merrill.
