Jericho is the best place for young families to live in Vermont, followed by Montpelier and Vergennes.
That's according to NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website that has analyzed national and statewide data to determine the best places in Vermont for raising a family. The study looked at five factors important to young families including public school rating, median home value, ongoing cost of homeownership, median income and economic growth.
Specifically, the overall score for each municipality was derived from the following measures:
- GreatSchools city rating. GreatSchools city ratings are calculated by averaging the overall rating for each school, weighted by the number of students enrolled at the school.
- Median home value from the U.S. Census
- Monthly homeowner costs from the U.S. Census
- Median household income from the U.S. Census
- Income change between 1999 and 2011 from the U.S. Census
Rounding out the top ten were Arlington, South Burlington, Waterbury, Enosburg Falls, Essex Junction, Middlebury and Castleton. There is a catch, however. Only places with a population greater than 1,000 were considered for the study. That works out to 46 cities and towns, out of the 251 designated places in Vermont.
12/13/13 11:25 a.m. Update: NerdWallet states, "Forty-six Vermont cities and areas designated as places by the U.S. Census were included in this analysis. Only places with a population greater than 1,000 were considered." However, census figures show there are far more than 46 places in Vermont with a populations greater than 1,000.
12/13/13 4:00 p.m. Update: For this list, NerdWallet used the Census' 2011 5-year estimates for population, which excludes some communities. NerdWallet's Mike Anderson, who conducted the study, said, "We chose to use this list because it is more up to date than others."
