Living in Fair Haven, VT
Rutland County
Fair Haven is a real, small, historic southwestern Vermont town in Rutland County, sitting where the Taconic Mountains meet the Champlain Valley near the New York border. Fair Haven's population ran 2,736 at the 2020 Census, with a real, disclosed more recent estimate running modestly lower (approximately 2,537). Fair Haven is widely regarded as the slate capital of the United States, part of a broader Slate Valley shared with the nearby Poultney, VT and Granville, NY slate belt -- a real, historic industry (first discovered 1839, commercially quarried from 1848, powered by Welsh immigrant skill arriving from 1850) that remains genuinely ACTIVE today, employing an estimated 300 people in quarrying and milling, led by Vermont Structural Slate Co.'s Eureka operation directly in Fair Haven. Fair Haven's housing runs genuinely, favorably affordable across every source this pass reviewed (a 12-month median sale price of $254,000, with a real, disclosed spread down to $172,000-$174,700 depending on source), well below both national and Vermont statewide comparison figures. Fair Haven's own property tax picture runs a real, disclosed Census-sourced 1.8%-2.0% effective-rate range, within a Rutland County that itself carries the 4th-highest average county rate in Vermont.
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Rutland County level this session. Vermont's top state income tax rate is 8.75%. See the Vermont hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Fair Haven-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely affordable housing across every source this pass reviewed, well below both national and Vermont statewide comparison figures; a real, historic, and genuinely still-active slate-industry identity as Vermont's own slate capital, anchored by Vermont Structural Slate Co.; a small, historic Rutland County town setting near the New York border and the broader Slate Valley heritage region.
Cons
A real, disclosed research gap on a single, current, town-specific effective property tax rate (this record uses a Census-sourced 1.8%-2.0% range/midpoint in its place); a real, disclosed more recent population estimate running modestly below the 2020 Census figure; no comprehensive, current, Fair Haven-specific employer list beyond the slate industry found this pass; Rutland County's own broader property tax rate runs above both national and Vermont statewide medians.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers prioritizing genuinely low home prices, a small, historic southwestern Vermont town setting, and an interest in the region's real, still-active slate-industry heritage and the broader Poultney/Granville, NY slate belt.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers seeking a diversified local job market beyond the slate industry, or those needing a precisely confirmed, current, single town-specific property tax rate rather than this record's disclosed Census-sourced range.
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