Living in Hardwick, VT
Caledonia County
Hardwick is a real, current town of approximately 2,920-2,968 residents in Vermont's Caledonia County, at the edge of the rural Northeast Kingdom. Hardwick's most distinctive, nationally documented feature is its local-food-economy revival -- chronicled in the book 'The Town That Food Saved' -- anchored by the Center for an Agricultural Economy's Food Hub, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Jasper Hill Farm, Pete's Greens, and the Vermont Food Venture Center. Housing runs genuinely affordable relative to Vermont's own statewide range (a cited $220,485 average home value), though property taxes run dramatically above the state's already-high average (3.38% versus 1.51% statewide). Hardwick was severely hit by the July 2023 Great Vermont Flood, a real, recent, and disclosed hazard this record does not omit.
Explore Hardwick in depth
- Moving to Hardwick: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Hardwick
- Housing in Hardwick
- Taxes & Insurance in Hardwick
- Climate in Hardwick
- Schools & Families in Hardwick
- Healthcare & Safety in Hardwick
- Pros and Cons of Living in Hardwick
- Best Areas to Live in Hardwick
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Caledonia 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 Hardwick-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuine, nationally documented local-food-economy identity unlike almost anywhere else in Vermont. Housing costs well below Vermont's own statewide range. Vermont's real, current low-homeowners-insurance statewide advantage applies directly.
Cons
A dramatically above-state-average property tax rate (3.38% versus Vermont's own 1.51% statewide anchor). A real, recent, and severe flood history (the July 2023 Great Vermont Flood), including at least one documented case of flood risk outside mapped flood zones. A real, disclosed internal inconsistency in this pass's crime data that this record does not force into a clean narrative.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits movers drawn to a genuine, food-centered small-town identity and cost-conscious buyers prioritizing housing affordability over the lowest possible property tax bill.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers prioritizing the lowest possible property tax burden, a confirmed hospital nearby, or a home outside any documented flood-risk history -- Hardwick's real, disclosed figures on each front run behind other Vermont markets this project documents.
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