Burlington, Vermont
Area Profile
44,675 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Burlington, in Chittenden County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesUnemployment is 2.7% and median household income $71,109, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 569 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 6 the year before.
Rent takes 33% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.8 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 2.7%, lower than in 98% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 23,947 employed residents.
60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsChittenden County, VT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $73,658 | 52nd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftChittenden County, VT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $75,175 | 57th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$4,1932024 ACS 5-Year | $71,109 | Top 44%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,1782024 ACS 5-Year | $40,192 | Top 32%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.7% | Top 50%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.8 min | Top 17%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 60.5% | Top 7%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 45.6% | 5th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 23,947 | Bottom 29%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −5.6% | Bottom 3%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −2.3% | Bottom 16%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 24,612 | 28th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 85.5% | Top 22%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageBurlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $74,360 | Top 30%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageBurlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $60,020 | Top 20%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.3% | 96th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.4% | Top 32%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 2.7% | Top 2%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.0% | 84th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Burlington-South Burlington, VT
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 3,550 | $37,330 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,150 | $98,330 |
| General and Operations Managers | 2,930 | $98,430 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 2,770 | $37,190 |
| Cashiers | 2,590 | $36,880 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 2,230 | $37,780 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There are 11.6 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington High School | Burlington School District | 921 | 12.1 |
| Champlain School | Burlington School District | 559 | 22.4 |
| Edmunds Middle School | Burlington School District | 356 | 9.6 |
| Lyman C. Hunt Middle School | Burlington School District | 322 | 8.9 |
| J. J. Flynn School | Burlington School District | 292 | 9.4 |
| Edmunds Elementary School | Burlington School District | 279 | 11.2 |
| C. P. Smith School | Burlington School District | 255 | 12.8 |
| Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes | Burlington School District | 213 | 11.2 |
| Integrated Arts Academy at H. O. Wheeler | Burlington School District | 201 | 8.0 |
| Burlington Technical Center | Burlington School District | 0 | — |
54.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Vermont’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area is up 49% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $7,335 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.65% of the median home value.
The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,649 a month.
A median home at $444,800 costs 3.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $117,628, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Burlington’s median household income of $71,109, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2023 | 100.8 | Top 46%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +0.8% | 15th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +48.9% | 76th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +88.8% | 44th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year | 3.8 | Bottom 20%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 41.5% | 5th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±5752024 ACS 5-Year | 18,079 | 97th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year | $1,649 | Bottom 16%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$19,3572024 ACS 5-Year | $444,800 | 86th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3542024 ACS 5-Year | $7,335 | 97th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$14,4502024 ACS 5-Year | $117,628 | Top 17%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.65% | 84th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.7% | Bottom 28%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1422024 ACS 5-Year | 181 | 93rd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.0% | 62nd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.2% | 22nd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2282024 ACS 5-Year | 575 | 91st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 44,432 in 2024.
90% of the 569 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
Federal tax returns show Chittenden County, which contains Burlington, lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $73,658, close to the $75,175 of households that moved out.
At 12.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Franklin County, VT 483 people · 7.1% of arrivals
- Washington County, VT 361 people · 5.3% of arrivals
- Addison County, VT 299 people · 4.4% of arrivals
- Middlesex County, MA 203 people · 3.0% of arrivals
- Lamoille County, VT 165 people · 2.4% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Franklin County, VT 766 people · 11% of departures
- Washington County, VT 393 people · 5.4% of departures
- Addison County, VT 353 people · 4.8% of departures
- Lamoille County, VT 192 people · 2.6% of departures
- Grand Isle County, VT 157 people · 2.2% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Chittenden County, VT. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 13°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 37.5 inches, including 87.5 inches of snow.
Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 51 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 37.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 87.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 13°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 82°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 37 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 52°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 72% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 92% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: avalanche, inland flooding, strong wind, tornado, wildfire, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Burlington's police department reported 482 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 4,103.
Chittenden County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 19.5 per 100,000 residents in Chittenden County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Burlington’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Burlington (Chittenden County) rather than Burlington itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- School results
- Too few schools here reported proficiency for a figure to be weighted honestly. AreaProfile requires at least two reporting schools and 200 enrolled students behind a place-level rate, because below that a single small school decides the number.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Plattsburgh Intl at 16 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 91.6% | Top 42%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 16 mi | Top 45%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.3% | Top 26%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh Intl | PBG | 16 mi | 11,759 ft |
| Albany Intl | ALB | 124 mi | 8,500 ft |
| Griffiss Intl | RME | 139 mi | 11,820 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
Customize your score
What matters to you?
Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Other cities in Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Burlington | Chittenden County | 20,756 | 68 | South Burlington vs Burlington |
| Essex Junction | Chittenden County | 10,803 | 65 | Essex Junction vs Burlington |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Burlington side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Burlington from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2024-25 school year |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.