Living in Burlington, VT

Chittenden County

Burlington is Vermont's largest city -- and genuinely, honestly the SMALLEST 'largest city' of any state built in this project so far. The confirmed 2020 Census count was 44,743 residents, and this record discloses that modest size directly rather than describing Burlington as though it were a major metro on the scale of this project's other Tier A+ markets. What Burlington lacks in population, it makes up for with a real, distinctive identity: it sits directly on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, hosts the University of Vermont (UVM) and the closely affiliated University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC, Vermont's largest hospital AND the state's single largest employer at 8,000+ employees), and anchors its downtown around the Church Street Marketplace, a real, nationally recognized four-block pedestrian-only shopping district opened in 1981 that draws an estimated 3 million visitors a year. Burlington also carries a real, well-documented progressive political and cultural identity, tracing to Bernie Sanders's 1981-1989 mayoralty as a self-described socialist and continuing under its current Vermont Progressive Party mayor. This record discloses Burlington's honest 2026 picture directly rather than treating it as either a postcard-perfect lake town or a scaled-down version of this project's larger markets. On the real challenge side -- and this runs in the OPPOSITE direction from several of this project's more affordable Tier A+ markets -- Burlington runs genuinely expensive: Zillow's cited average home value (~$519,611) runs approximately 27% above this project's ~$408,776 national median sale price comparison figure, RentCafe's cited average rent (~$2,641/month) runs approximately 39% above RentCafe's own cited national average, Vermont's graduated state income tax tops out at a genuinely high 8.75%, and Burlington's own cited median effective property tax rate (2.11%) runs above both the Vermont statewide median (1.92%) and this project's ~1.02% national comparison figure. Cost-of-living citations reviewed this pass ran 17%-33% above the national average. Burlington also carries a real, current, chronic housing-affordability crisis (Vermont needs an estimated 30,000 additional homes by 2030, per current reporting), a crime rate that runs above this project's national comparison figure, and a real, current University of Vermont enrollment decline driving a $12 million university budget deficit. On the real strength side: homeowners insurance costs run genuinely, honestly BELOW the national comparison figure despite the otherwise high-cost profile, average commute times run meaningfully below the national comparison figure, and Burlington's July 2023 flood exposure -- real and historic at the STATEWIDE level -- spared the city itself of direct flood damage in that specific defining event, even as a Winooski River sewer pipe was damaged and nearby Intervale farms suffered real losses. This record states Burlington's honest 2026 picture directly: a small, genuinely distinctive lake-and-university city with a real progressive identity and a real UVMMC healthcare anchor, weighed honestly against a genuinely high cost of living, high property and income taxes, a chronic housing-affordability crisis, and an above-national crime rate.

Explore Burlington in depth

• Moving to Burlington: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Burlington
• Housing Market in Burlington
• Buying a Home in Burlington
• Renting in Burlington
• Property Taxes in Burlington
• Taxes in Burlington
• Homeowners Insurance in Burlington
• Flood & Hurricane Risk in Burlington
• Climate & Weather in Burlington
• Jobs & Economy in Burlington
• Schools in Burlington
• Crime & Safety in Burlington
• Healthcare in Burlington
• Traffic & Transportation in Burlington
• Best Areas to Live in Burlington
• Pros and Cons of Living in Burlington
• Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Burlington
• Who Should NOT Move to Burlington?
• Retiring in Burlington
• Living in Burlington for Families
• Living in Burlington for Remote Workers
• Is Burlington a Good Place to Live?

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers whose specific priorities align with Burlington's real strengths -- genuine Lake Champlain lakefront recreation, a career or affiliation tied to UVM or UVMMC, a genuine, walkable, car-free downtown core (the Church Street Marketplace), and a real, well-documented progressive political and cultural environment -- and who take the city's honestly-disclosed challenges (a genuinely high cost of living and property/income tax burden, a chronic, current housing-affordability crisis, and a crime rate running above this project's national comparison figure) seriously enough to budget for them and research current, address-specific data directly before committing to a specific Burlington property.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone specifically seeking a low overall tax burden, given Vermont's genuinely high top income tax rate (8.75%) and Burlington's own cited property tax rate running above both the Vermont statewide median and this project's national comparison figure. Anyone prioritizing housing affordability above other factors should look elsewhere, given Burlington's cited average home value (~$519,611) and average rent (~$2,641/month) both running meaningfully above this project's national comparison figures, and the city's real, current, chronic housing-affordability crisis. Anyone requiring a large-city scale of amenities and job market should weigh Burlington's genuinely small population (44,743 per the 2020 Census) honestly against this project's larger Tier A+ markets. Anyone highly risk-averse to an above-national crime rate should research current, address-specific data directly via the Burlington Police Department, particularly given this record's disclosed real, current, unresolved August 2026 incident news.