Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Vermont with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Vermont that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Vermont at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Morrisville.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Vermont For 2024
- Morrisville
- Windsor
- Randolph
- West Rutland
- Fair Haven
- Swanton
- White River Junction
- Vergennes
- Bellows Falls
- West Brattleboro
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Vermont reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Vermont
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Vermont
- Best Places To Retire In Vermont
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Vermont For 2024
/10
Population: 2,576
Median Home Price: $332,070
Population Change: 10.7%
Home Price Change: 7.1%
More on Morrisville: Data | Real Estate
2. Windsor
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Population: 2,138
Median Home Price: $259,923
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: 1.0%
More on Windsor: Crime | Real Estate
3. Randolph
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Population: 2,010
Median Home Price: $318,839
Population Change: -4.4%
Home Price Change: 4.1%
More on Randolph: Real Estate
4. West Rutland
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Population: 2,222
Median Home Price: $231,730
Population Change: 3.9%
Home Price Change: 7.3%
More on West Rutland: Real Estate
5. Fair Haven
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Population: 2,422
Median Home Price: $209,705
Population Change: 0.4%
Home Price Change: 2.4%
More on Fair Haven: Crime | Real Estate
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7. White River Junction
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Population: 2,766
Median Home Price: $360,462
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: 3.2%
More on White River Junction: Real Estate
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10. West Brattleboro
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Population: 2,817
Median Home Price: $297,423
Population Change: 1.7%
Home Price Change: 10.4%
More on West Brattleboro: Real Estate
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Vermont for 2024?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 9. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Vermont. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Vermont with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2018-2022 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Vermont with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Vermont, only 27 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 27 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Morrisville is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Green Mountain State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Vermont for 2024
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Vermont. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Vermont are Morrisville, Windsor, Randolph, West Rutland, Fair Haven, Swanton, White River Junction, Vergennes, Bellows Falls, and West Brattleboro.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Vermont reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Vermont
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morrisville | 2,576 | $332,070 | 10.7% | 7.1% |
| 2 | Windsor | 2,138 | $259,923 | -0.3% | 1.0% |
| 3 | Randolph | 2,010 | $318,839 | -4.4% | 4.1% |
| 4 | West Rutland | 2,222 | $231,730 | 3.9% | 7.3% |
| 5 | Fair Haven | 2,422 | $209,705 | 0.4% | 2.4% |
| 6 | Swanton | 2,428 | $327,915 | 3.1% | 7.6% |
| 7 | White River Junction | 2,766 | $360,462 | -0.4% | 3.2% |
| 8 | Vergennes | 2,561 | $342,717 | -0.5% | 3.2% |
| 9 | Bellows Falls | 2,824 | $214,292 | 3.3% | 3.6% |
| 10 | West Brattleboro | 2,817 | $297,423 | 1.7% | 10.4% |
| 11 | Wilder | 3,634 | $333,949 | 7.7% | -2.9% |
| 12 | Milton | 3,712 | $427,339 | -8.4% | 9.3% |
| 13 | Springfield | 3,946 | $218,106 | -3.8% | 6.6% |
| 14 | Newport | 4,431 | $241,536 | -0.3% | 8.8% |
| 15 | St. Johnsbury | 5,963 | $226,487 | 2.6% | 4.5% |
| 16 | Shelburne | 6,195 | $666,121 | -2.2% | 5.6% |
| 17 | Brattleboro | 7,543 | $322,734 | 2.7% | 4.9% |
| 18 | St. Albans | 6,891 | $342,754 | 0.4% | 8.2% |
| 19 | Middlebury | 6,913 | $431,724 | -3.9% | 2.8% |
| 20 | Winooski | 8,122 | $399,286 | 1.3% | 2.2% |
| 21 | Montpelier | 8,030 | $400,336 | 0.8% | 4.2% |
| 22 | Bennington | 8,753 | $236,017 | -0.2% | 7.7% |
| 23 | Barre | 8,488 | $287,477 | -0.3% | 8.8% |
| 24 | Essex Junction | 10,646 | $498,949 | 1.7% | 5.8% |
| 25 | Rutland | 15,819 | $245,284 | -0.7% | 8.2% |
| 26 | South Burlington | 20,241 | $462,054 | 1.0% | 5.9% |
| 27 | Burlington | 44,646 | $503,909 | -0.1% | 5.3% |