Essex Junction, Vermont

Area Profile

10,803 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Essex Junction, in Chittenden County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 30% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 38% of 4,199 cities measured62
Growth3,719th of 4,224 cities measured28
Housing affordability2,296th of 4,218 cities measured65
Climate3,812th of 4,225 cities measured58
Physical resilienceTop 8% of 4,226 cities measured93
Access3,117th of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stabilityTop 19% of 4,226 cities measured72
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.0% and median household income $89,257, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

Residential permitting has slowed: 10 units authorized over the past twelve months, 85% below the prior year.

Rent takes 34% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.1 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

Population
10,803
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,257
Top 25% nationally
Density
2,364/sq mi
4.6 sq mi of land
Median age
39.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Vermont
Nearest major airport
PBG
21 mi · Plattsburgh Intl
Median home value
$407,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.0%, lower than in 99% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 6,167 employed residents.

52% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsChittenden County, VT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$73,65852nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftChittenden County, VT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$75,17557th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$16,2332024 ACS 5-Year$89,257Top 25%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,0552024 ACS 5-Year$50,555Top 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%Top 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.1 minTop 22%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year52.4%Top 10%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year67.0%22nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20266,167Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−5.8%Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.3%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20266,2921st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year90.3%Top 10%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBurlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,360Top 30%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBurlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,020Top 20%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%80th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2023/012023/102024/072025/042026/072.51.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2023-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202494k80k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $89,257 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Burlington-South Burlington, VT

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons3,550$37,330
Registered Nurses3,150$98,330
General and Operations Managers2,930$98,430
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,770$37,190
Cashiers2,590$36,880
Stockers and Order Fillers2,230$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 12.3 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.3
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
—
Reading proficiency
—
All 9 public schools on record, largest first. None of them has a proficiency figure in the federal file.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacher
Essex High SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #511,22411.8
Essex Elementary SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5148415.6
Essex Middle SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5136611.4
Founders Memorial SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5135312.2
Summit Street SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5130517.9
Albert D. Lawton SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #512979.3
Hiawatha Elementary SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5120311.3
Thomas Fleming SchoolEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #5119712.3
The Center for Technology - EssexEssex Westford Educational Community Unified Union SD #510—

27.6% 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.

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 $6,797 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.67% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,544 a month.

A median home at $407,500 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $132,922, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
100.8

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.

Rent as a share of income
33.7%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,544
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$407,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Essex Junction’s median household income of $89,257, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2023100.8Top 46%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+48.9%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+88.8%44th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 33%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year59.3%19th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2372024 ACS 5-Year4,86088th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$1352024 ACS 5-Year$1,544Bottom 19%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,7502024 ACS 5-Year$407,50083rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3252024 ACS 5-Year$6,79796th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$18,8102024 ACS 5-Year$132,922Top 11%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year1.67%84th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.7%Bottom 24%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±162024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%21st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±752024 ACS 5-Year9965th percentileof 32,3302024 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.

Development Momentum

28/ 100
Ranks 3,719 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 2% since 2020, reaching 10,787 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 17 units authorized in 2025, 91% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 10 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Chittenden County, which contains Essex Junction, 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 0.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
10
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.9
Bottom 24% nationally
Year over year
−85%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k11k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
72%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$73,658
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$75,175
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Franklin County, VT 483 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  2. Washington County, VT 361 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  3. Addison County, VT 299 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  4. Middlesex County, MA 203 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. Lamoille County, VT 165 people · 2.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Franklin County, VT 766 people · 11% of departures
  2. Washington County, VT 393 people · 5.4% of departures
  3. Addison County, VT 353 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Lamoille County, VT 192 people · 2.6% of departures
  5. 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

2020202120222023202420251812.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−87%).

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.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BURLINGTON INTL AP, 2.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals87.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals52°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

93 / 100
Physical resilience

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.

Winter weatherModerate
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate
Heat waveElevated
HurricaneModerate
Cold waveModerate

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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

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.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.1
per 100,000 residents

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.

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 Essex Junction (Chittenden County) rather than Essex Junction itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 21 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year94.7%Top 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle21 miBottom 43%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Plattsburgh IntlPBG21 mi11,759 ft
Albany IntlALB125 mi8,500 ft
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT136 mi9,250 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.

Area Score
65
Your Score
—

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
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BurlingtonChittenden County44,67569Burlington vs Essex Junction
South BurlingtonChittenden County20,75668South Burlington vs Essex Junction

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.

Compare

Put Essex Junction side by side with a similar place.

Essex Junction vs StillwaterEssex Junction vs Hudson

Moving to Essex Junction from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.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
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA 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.

ZIP codes in Essex Junction

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Essex Junction with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0545222,626$101,349$432,40065