Living in South Burlington, VT

Chittenden County

South Burlington is Vermont's second-largest city -- not its largest, and this record discloses that plainly: Burlington itself remains roughly double South Burlington's size by every population citation reviewed this pass, even though South Burlington has grown steadily (2020 Census 20,292; 2026 estimates running 20,756-21,728) while Burlington's own population has run essentially flat to slightly declining over the same window. South Burlington is a real, genuine Burlington-metro suburb with a distinctly more suburban, commercial, car-oriented character than Burlington proper: it hosts Vermont's largest shopping mall (University Mall, on Dorset Street, the Burlington metro's real regional retail hub), Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) -- Vermont's busiest commercial airport, physically located in South Burlington despite carrying Burlington's name -- a real, current Vermont Air National Guard F-35A fighter-wing presence at that airport (a genuine, ongoing, documented community noise dispute this record discloses honestly rather than omitting), a real, substantial University of Vermont Medical Center operational footprint, and real, genuinely strong public schools (the South Burlington School District cited as ranked #1 in Vermont, with a 91% graduation rate). On the real strength side: WalletHub named South Burlington the #1 safest city in America in 2024 (citing, among other factors, the nation's lowest cited unemployment rate at 1.9%), median household income runs a real, cited $106,667, homeowners insurance is genuinely among the cheapest in the nation (Vermont statewide averages cited around $1,047-$1,247/year, well below this project's ~$2,844 national comparison figure), and average commute times (~17 minutes) run meaningfully below this project's ~26.4-minute national comparison figure. On the honest challenge side: South Burlington's own cited median effective property tax rate (~1.92%) runs distinctly above this project's ~1.02% national comparison figure, reflecting Vermont's real, structurally high, education-funding-linked property tax system; Zillow's cited typical home value (~$458,849) runs ABOVE this project's ~$408,776 national median sale price comparison figure -- a real, honest contrast with several of this project's more affordable Tier A+ Midwest/Plains markets; a real, disclosed, genuinely cross-source-disputed CURRENT crime picture sits in real tension with the 2024 WalletHub safety award (one 2026 citation put the total crime rate meaningfully above a cited national comparison figure, even as a separate citation described it as below the national average); and the real, ongoing, documented F-35 noise/community debate remains genuinely unresolved. This record states South Burlington's honest 2026 picture directly: a genuinely growing, high-income, well-schooled Burlington-metro suburb with a real commercial/retail identity of its own, weighed honestly against above-national housing costs, a high property tax rate, a genuinely disputed current crime picture, and a real, ongoing military-aviation noise dispute.

Explore South Burlington in depth

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

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers whose specific priorities align with South Burlington's real strengths -- a genuinely high-income, low-unemployment Burlington-metro suburb with genuinely strong public schools, a real, growing aerospace/tech/healthcare employer base (BETA Technologies, OnLogic, UVM Medical Center), genuinely cheap homeowners insurance, and short average commute times -- and who take the city's honestly-disclosed challenges (an above-national property tax rate, above-national housing costs, a genuinely disputed current crime picture, and a real, ongoing F-35 noise dispute) seriously enough to research current, address-specific data (including a target property's actual proximity to Burlington International Airport's flight paths and FEMA flood-zone status) directly before committing to a specific South Burlington property.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone specifically seeking the lowest possible property tax rate, given South Burlington's own cited median effective rate (~1.92%) running distinctly above this project's national comparison figure, or anyone seeking a housing market meaningfully below the national median, given South Burlington's cited typical home value running above this project's national comparison figure. Anyone highly sensitive to aircraft noise should research a specific target property's proximity to Burlington International Airport's flight paths directly, given the real, current, ongoing F-35A fighter-jet noise dispute. Anyone requiring strong confidence in a single, precise, undisputed crime-rate figure, given this record's disclosed tension between the 2024 WalletHub safety award and separate, more granular 2026 crime-rate citations. Anyone requiring a genuinely walkable, car-optional lifestyle citywide, given South Burlington's genuinely low neighborhood-level Walk Scores and 80% drove-alone commute share.