Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,975, chartered in 1763.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Williston grades B overall, ranked 25th of 71 in Vermont. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. Its schools outperform 96% of the state's and the median household earns $107K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $563K for a typical one and 6 times the Burlington metro’s $93K median household income. Williston’s property crime rate is 31.4 per 1,000 residents, above both Vermont’s towns (13.6) and U.S. towns (9.9). On hazard risk, just 11 of Vermont’s 172 towns do better. Williston's police reported 13 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Williston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Williston | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4% | 10.1% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Williston Schools | PK–8 | 1,040 |
| The Bellwether School | PK–5 | 40 |
| Jean Garvin School | 7–12 | 42 |
Census counts: 471 in 1790, a low of 471 in 1790, 10,103 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1906 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Vermont), ordered by how far Williston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Williston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LakeLake Champlain
16 mi MountainMount Mansfield
8 mi MuseumShelburne Museum
17 mi Ski areaStowe Mountain Resort144 runs · 2,390 ft vertical
22 mi Ski areaSugarbush Resort142 runs · 2,569 ft vertical
19 mi Canyon & gorgeAusable ChasmLake Champlain: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Mount Mansfield: Original uploader was Calzarette (Joe Calzarette) at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Shelburne Museum: Storylanding, CC0 · Stowe Mountain Resort: Stevage, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sugarbush Resort: Mrtrek1701 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ausable Chasm: Alan Prusila / Alanp35 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Williston, 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 Williston.
Williston has schools in the top 5% of Vermont, draws workers from Burlington and beyond and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
62 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Williston’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Williston Community Park, 61 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Williston Community Park | 1.2 mi | 61 |
| 2. Brennan Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Overlook Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #2 of the 71 Vermont towns we grade for schools. Its A+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Jericho (A) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Champlain Valley Unified Union School District #56. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williston SchoolsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,040 | A− |
| Trinity Baptist School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 101 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VT on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Vermont is tooth loss: 4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.1% statewide.
Williston beats the Vermont average on 23 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 24% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Williston. Only 3 of the 71 Vermont towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have obesity than Williston.
| Williston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 30% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 19% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Williston | VT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.2% | 9.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
10,793 jobs are based in Williston, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Williston for work: only 17% work in town. 4.3% of Williston residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Williston has lost 926 jobs, to 10,793 in 2023.
| Williston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $107,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 16% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Property crime runs at 31.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Vermont rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 583 to 329 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Williston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 6 years of the Burlington metro’s $93K median household income, the typical home (about $563K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of Vermont towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median rent in Williston is $1,832 a month. The typical Williston home is worth about $563,000, up 1.4% in a year, 44% above the Vermont typical home.
| Williston | Vermont towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,832 a month | $1,133 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Williston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Essex Junction 1 N weather station, 6 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Essex Junction 1 N weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 160 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 88% of Vermont places with climate records.
Williston has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 10°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3 within 15 miles of the center of Williston
About 6 of every 100 Williston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Vermont.
8,698 counted in 2010 and 10,103 in 2020; an estimated 9,975 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
6 places in Williston on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Williston.
Town in Vermont, United States
Williston is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Originally rural and laid out with many farms, in recent decades it has developed into a thriving suburb of Burlington, Vermont's largest city. As of the 2020 census, Williston's population was 10,103, an increase of over 1,000 since the 2010 census. Williston is one of Vermont's fastest-growing towns and has become a major retail center for the Burlington area as well as much of central and northern Vermont. The town has a National Register Historic District in its unincorporated central village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Williston.
| Town | VT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williston | #25 | B | D | D | A+ | A+ |
| South Burlington | #26 | B | D | D | A | A+ |
| Essex | #13 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Jericho | #2 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Essex Junction | #5 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Richmond | #6 | A | C− | — | A | A+ |
| St. George | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jericho, Essex Junction and Richmond report no FBI crime data of their own. St. George isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Williston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Williston grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #25 of 71 in Vermont. It grades A+ for health, D for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
8 notable people were born here, including Chauncey W. Brownell and Miron Winslow.
