Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Pawlet on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 301.
301 people call West Pawlet, Vermont home. Source: Census ACS.
17th
percentile, home value
73rd
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: West Pawlet, VT
301 people live in West Pawlet, Vermont - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. West Pawlet's housing stock carries a median value of $119,900, and the median resident age is 48.4 years. About 21.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 59.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Vermont tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Vermont at 98.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,487 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Vermont run around $251, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 36.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of West Pawlet's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Pawlet, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for West Pawlet?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 21.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Which cities make useful reference points for West Pawlet?
Within Vermont, the closest population matches are Readsboro (299 residents, $43,472 income); Canaan (305 residents, $56,250 income); East Dorset (297 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are San Miguel, AZ (301 residents); Orick, CA (301 residents); San Simeon, CA (301 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
What does the journey to work look like in West Pawlet?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Vermont average
F
City profile score · West Pawlet, VT
30/100
3 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living D
98.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
21.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
25.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
West Pawlet profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 48/100 (D) · 98.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 39/100 (F) · 21.6%
Poverty rate: 6/100 (F) · 25.0%
How does West Pawlet compare to other US cities?
West Pawlet measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Home value17% pricier than other cities
Median rent73% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares West Pawlet against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Vermont only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Vermont-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places West Pawlet near the bottom of Vermont's cities
Among the 161 Vermont cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Pawlet ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Pawlet only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 161
0th percentile in Vermont
Median Home Value
#147 of 152
3rd percentile in Vermont
Poverty Rate
#9 of 161
94th percentile in Vermont
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#124 of 161
23rd percentile in Vermont
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Vermont only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
How West Pawlet's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$119,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 83% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for West Pawlet in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)25.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
301
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
$119,900
Median Age
48.4
Poverty Rate
25.0%
Labor force participation
59.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.6%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.9%
Carpool
3.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.4%
Work from Home
5.2%
Based on 174 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Vermont statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $251
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Vermont at $251 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Vermont statewide averages, not a meter reading for West Pawlet. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Vermont's BEA cost-of-living index is 98.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around West Pawlet is $1,487/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Vermont statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 36.4 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Vermont statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county West Pawlet sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Pawlet compares to similar-size Vermont cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.