Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in South Hero earn more than those in 91% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 3.5% (Vermont 10.1%). South Hero grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. At home: 26% of workers have no commute at all (Vermont 17%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
South Hero at work: what stands out
The better-paid jobs are outside South Hero
67% of South Hero residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in South Hero pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in South Hero pay little
29% of the jobs based in South Hero pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Home offices are common in South Hero
26% of South Hero workers work from home, against 17% across Vermont. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 790 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind South Hero’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, South Hero is better than 80% of U.S. towns. Household income holds South Hero’s grade up ($127,434, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (5.9%) is left out: South Hero’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, South Hero could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
What work there is in South Hero: 408 jobs
408 jobs are based in South Hero.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Hero, 2014 → 2024: 256 → 408. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Hero’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way for South Hero’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Hero workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 633 commuters (the 26% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many people are in South Hero by day
On a workday 702 residents head out to work, 88 work right here, and 320 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in South Hero on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.52 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
18% of working residents work in Burlington
Where South Hero clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
South Hero’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
For most of South Hero, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Hero is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 7.2% across Vermont, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 859 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of South Hero households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Hero’s commuters take a bus or train.
669th of 5,760: where South Hero ranks among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 667 | Kure Beach NC | 2,145 | $104K | 3.9% | 2.3% | 10% | A− |
| 668 | Salem Township OH | 2,112 | $88K | 4.7% | 1.5% | 2% | A− |
| 669 | South Hero VT | 1,726 | $127K | 3.5% | 5.9% | 11% | A− |
| 670 | Gale WI | 1,743 | $105K | 4.6% | 2.1% | 1% | A− |
| 671 | Mitchell WI | 1,293 | $97K | 2.7% | 7.2% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 737 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 756 | Bolton VT | 1,277 | $111K | 2.9% | 1.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 861 | Westford VT | 2,072 | $113K | 2.5% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of South Hero, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Work next door: 17% of South Hero’s workers
The biggest share goes to Colchester (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Hero workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hero | – | A− | B+ | 24 min | $127,434 |
| Milton | 3% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $118,977 |
| Colchester | 9% | B+ | A | 20 min | $97,891 |
| Grand Isle | 5% | B+ | D | 32 min | $100,846 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Hero’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in South Hero: questions
What is the median household income in South Hero?
$127,434 (±$15,007) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Hero?
3.5%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Hero?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Hero work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington (18%, 10 mi), South Burlington (12%, 15 mi), Colchester (9%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Hero walkable?
South Hero is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Hero without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Hero, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Hero
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.