Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
St. Johnsbury is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, ranked 60th of 71 in Vermont, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 60% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 83% of Vermont towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $264K, 3.8 years of the county’s $70K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 14 places on the National Register. 38% of working residents work locally in St. Johnsbury, above both the Vermont town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include St. Johnsbury Athenaeum and St. Johnsbury Main Street Historic District. St. Johnsbury is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where St. Johnsbury beats most towns.
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 143 in 1790, 7,364 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1873.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far St. Johnsbury is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Johnsbury, 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 St. Johnsbury.
St. Johnsbury gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, fares better on crime within Vermont than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C−, Danville highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Saint Johnsbury School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is St. Johnsbury School, with 1,030 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good Shepherd Catholic School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 88 | – |
| St. Johnsbury SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 1,030 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests
At 35.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 65% of Vermont’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 256 to 151 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in St. Johnsbury is 18.7 per 1,000 residents.
| St. Johnsbury | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.7 per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Lyndon is next at $296K.
St. Johnsbury’s median rent is $914 a month. The typical St. Johnsbury home is worth about $264,000, about the same as a year ago, 33% below the Vermont typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Saint Johnsbury weather station records that 87 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Johnsbury has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79° and January nights drop to 5°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of St. 17% of residents live below the poverty line in St. Johnsbury. Jobs based in St. Johnsbury fell to 4,321 in 2023, 624 fewer than in 2013.
| St. Johnsbury | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Only 1 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than St. Johnsbury. The biggest place to walk is Town Forest, 106 acres with 1.9 miles of trail.
| St. Johnsbury | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Town Forest | 1.9 mi | 106 |
| 2. Leonard Field | — | 6 |
| 3. Legion Field | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 49 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Johnsbury.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,232 U.S. towns with household incomes like St. Johnsbury’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Vermont it is less healthy than 84% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
34% of St. Johnsbury adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than St. Johnsbury. 27% of St. Johnsbury adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| St. Johnsbury | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 30% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | St. Johnsbury | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 9.2% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 25.1% | 18.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Johnsbury. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi MountainMount Washington
20 mi LakeLake Willoughby
38 mi TheatreHaskell Free Library and Opera House
25 mi Ski areaCannon Mountain104 runs · 2,201 ft vertical
39 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
39 mi National forestWhite Mountain National ForestMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Willoughby: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Haskell Free Library and Opera House: Thomsonmg2000, CC0 · Cannon Mountain: Mikespenard at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White Mountain National Forest: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of St. Johnsbury; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 St. Johnsbury residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Vermont.
14 places in St. Johnsbury on the National Register of Historic Places.
30 notable people were born in St. Johnsbury.
Town in Vermont, United States
St. Johnsbury or Saint Johnsbury (known locally as "St. J") is the shire town (county seat) of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,364. St. Johnsbury is situated on the Passumpsic River and is located approximately six miles northwest of the Connecticut River and 48 miles (77 km) south of the Canada–U.S. border. St. Johnsbury is the largest town by population in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and has long served as a commercial center for the region. The more densely settled southern one-third of the town is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the St. Johnsbury census-designated place, where over 81% of the population resides.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with St. Johnsbury.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Johnsbury | #60 | C− | C+ | C− | C− | B |
| Danville | — | — | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Kirby | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lyndon | #46 | C+ | C | — | C | B+ |
| Waterford | — | — | C | — | B+ | B |
| Barnet | — | — | C | — | B+ | B+ |
Danville, Waterford and Barnet have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Danville, Lyndon, Waterford and Barnet report no FBI crime data of their own. Kirby isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare St. Johnsbury with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Johnsbury grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #60 of 71 in Vermont. It grades B for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
St. 30 notable people were born here, including Chris Hedges and Bob Smith.
