Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vergennes's standout: it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B+, 19th of 71 graded towns in Vermont. It is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. Vergennes's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns. Only 6 of Vermont’s 172 towns score higher on history. 15% of residents are under 18 in Vergennes, where Vermont’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 22%.
Where Vergennes beats most towns.
Census counts: 201 in 1790, 2,553 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1813 and a map from 1986 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Vergennes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vergennes, 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 Vergennes.
Vergennes trades workers with Middlebury and other neighbors, gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Vermont and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Vermont.
No town among the 71 in Vermont we compare has a lower share of conserved land than Vergennes. Vergennes’ trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. 2.5 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Addison Northwest Unified Union School District #54. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vergennes Union Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 280 | B+ |
| Vergennes Union High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 245 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Within Vermont it is less healthy than 51% of the 71 graded towns: Vermont sets a high bar.
30% of Vergennes adults sleep under 7 hours. Vergennes beats the Vermont average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.9% of Vergennes adults have diabetes.
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 9.1% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| What stands out | Vergennes | VT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.5% | 10.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vergennes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Cornwall weather station, 15 miles away, records that 59 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 94% of Vermont places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.4°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 96% of Vermont places with climate records; January nights average 10.8°.
Vergennes has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 71 Vermont towns, just 2 have a higher July high than Vergennes. The January low in Vergennes is 11°F.
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 11°F | 9°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 80°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Vergennes has about as many jobs (1,622) as working residents, but only 266 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Vergennes’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Vergennes has added 114 jobs, to 1,622 in 2023. The top destinations are Middlebury (16%), Burlington (10%) and South Burlington (7%).
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 16% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Vergennes home is worth about $357,000, down 2% in a year, 9% below the Vermont typical home.
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,000 a month | $1,137 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Vermont average. 42% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Vergennes.
| Vergennes | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.6 years | 43.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 39% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Vermont, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Vergennes | VT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 9.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.4% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 11.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.8% | 12.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.5% | 13% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 8.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 5.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.3% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 15.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.7% | 8.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 25.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.5% | 18.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,600, single groups can be off by several points
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vergennes. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi LakeLake Champlain
Big draw24 mi LandmarkFort Ticonderoga
33 mi MountainMount Marcy
34 mi MountainMount Mansfield
35 mi MountainWhiteface Mountain
17 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft verticalLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Fort Ticonderoga: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Marcy: Daniel Tripp, Public domain · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Whiteface Mountain: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Vergennes
About 4 of every 100 Vergennes residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Vermont.
5 places in Vergennes on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Vergennes.
City in Vermont, United States
Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smallest of Vermont's 10 cities in terms of population, though the city of Winooski has the smallest area. It was the first city chartered in the state of Vermont and is the only city in Addison County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Vergennes.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vergennes | #19 | B+ | C+ | B− | B | A− |
| Ferrisburgh | #29 | B | C− | — | B | A |
| Waltham | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ferrisburgh reports no FBI crime data of its own. Waltham isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vergennes with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Vergennes grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #19 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and B for schools.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($89,639 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
7 notable people were born here, including Frederick E. Woodbridge and Ethan A. Hitchcock.
