Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
51% more nonprofits per person than the typical Vermont town.
The best of Topsham’s subject grades is an A for civic life; the weakest is a D for incomes. Topsham’s average trip to work is 35 minutes, against 23 minutes in Vermont’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 10 of Vermont’s 172 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Pine Mountain Wildlife Management Area, at 1,528 acres. Topsham has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Topsham beats most towns.
Elwin Chase HouseIn a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Topsham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 162 in 1790, a peak of 1,745 in 1840, 1,199 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1914 and 2 maps from 1935 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Topsham, 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 Topsham.
The typical Topsham home is worth about $253,000, down 0.7% in a year, 35% below the Vermont typical home. 90% of Topsham households own their home, above both the Vermont town median (75%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Topsham is $908 a month.
| Topsham | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 90% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $908 a month | $1,135 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Waits River Union High District #36. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waits River Valley Union SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 265 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Topsham for work: only 7% work in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Topsham. The top destinations are Bradford (9%), Barre (7%) and Corinth (6%).
| Topsham | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.4% | 16% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Topsham beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of Topsham adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Topsham | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 76% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 35% |
| What stands out | Topsham | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults screened for colon cancer | 65% | 69.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Topsham’s July high is 77°F. Topsham has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pine Mountain Wildlife Management Area | 0.9 mi | 1,528 |
| 2. Groton State Forest | 0.3 mi | 335 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2008, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Topsham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Topsham; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Topsham residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
Where Topsham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Topsham on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Topsham.
Town in Vermont, United States
Topsham is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,199 at the 2020 census. It contains four villages: East Topsham, Topsham Four Corners, Waits River, and West Topsham.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
51% more nonprofits per person than the typical Vermont town.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($83,269 across the Lebanon-Claremont, NH-VT 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.
5 notable people were born here, including James Hamilton Peabody and F. J. Mills.
