Photo: Jared and Corin · CC BY-SA 2.0Brattleboro draws about half of Vernon’s working residents
Only 6% work in Vernon itself; outside it, Brattleboro draws the most (46%, 9 miles). The two grades for Vernon are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 6% of workers have no commute at all; Vermont has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Vernon
Fewer jobs are based in Vernon than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Vernon fell from 1,061 in 2013 to 444 in 2023, −58%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 955 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Vernon’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vernon is better than 71% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Vernon’s grade up (1.9%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vernon could be anywhere from B− to A−.
70% of the jobs in Vernon pay over $3,333 a month
444 jobs are based in Vernon.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vernon, 2013 → 2023: 1,061 → 444. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Vernon’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Vernon quiets down on a workday
On a workday 900 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 389 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Vernon on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.46 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Vernon goes to work
Where Vernon clocks in
46% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Vermont
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vernon workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,447 commuters (the 6% 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 far it is to work from Vernon
About 17% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Vernon is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Vernon is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Vernon near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,546 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.1% of Vernon households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Vernon’s commuters take a bus or train.
Vernon next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900: 1,152nd of 5,404 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 733 | South Hero VT | 1,726 | $127K | 3.5% | 5.9% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 774 | East Montpelier VT | 2,594 | $93K | 2.1% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 801 | Dummerston VT | 1,859 | $102K | 4.5% | 1.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,150 | Throop NY | 1,797 | $90K | 5.4% | 1.9% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,151 | Otisco Township MI | 2,303 | $62K | 3.7% | 1.5% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,152 | Vernon VT | 2,144 | $86K | 5.5% | 1.9% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,153 | Camino CA | 2,079 | $85K | 0.7% | 2.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,154 | Quail Creek TX | 1,715 | $90K | 5.4% | 10.4% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Vernon, the top three, the last and three more from Vermont.
Next door is work for 50% of Vernon
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vernon workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon | – | B+ | B− | 20 min | $85,682 |
| Guilford | 4% | C+ | C− | 25 min | $75,243 |
| Brattleboro | 46% | C− | A+ | 19 min | $58,241 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Brattleboro. Darker towns draw more of Vernon’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 2023, 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 Vernon: questions
What is the median household income in Vernon?
$85,682 (±$9,380) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vernon?
5.5%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vernon?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vernon work?
6% work in town.
Is Vernon walkable?
Vernon is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vernon without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vernon, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vernon
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.