Burlington, VT — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Vermont·Burlington

Chittenden County · Burlington-South Burlington · population 44,432

Burlington, VT
Image: Wikipedia · Burlington, Vermont
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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55
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Burlington stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $510,361
1-year -1.6%
5-yr CAGR +4.5%
vs 5-yr peak -3.6%
Population -0.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-06$510k$275k$366k$458k$550k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
76/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,066/mo$1,473$1,846$2,219202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent125132100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 20.6
Lean rent

At a 20.6 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Burlington. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
42 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
62 · w22%
Distance from peak
69 · w18%
Population growth
42 · w16%
Rent YoY
55 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
65 · w10%
Long thesis

Burlington has held up across the cycle: home values at $510,361 with +4.5% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Burlington's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Burlington

Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, with an estimated population of 44,432. It anchors the Burlington-South Burlington metro area. The median home value in Burlington is $510,361 as of 2026-04, down 1.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.5% annual growth (-3.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Burlington average $2,066 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.5%). The composite momentum score is 55 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Burlington has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Burlington (Wikipedia)

Burlington is a city in, and county seat of, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is located 45 miles (72 km) south of the Canada–United States border and 95 miles (153 km) south of Montreal. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,743. It is the most populous city in Vermont.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Chittenden County right now.

NWS active alerts (VT)Vermont Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Chittenden County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Burlington

South Burlington, VT65 · RisingSt. Albans, VT63 · RisingWinooski, VT58 · StableMontpelier, VT64 · Rising

Run the numbers for Burlington

ToolCan I afford Burlington?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Burlington rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Burlington to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBurlington cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
27° / 10°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
80° / 56°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
168
~46% of year
Annual precip
43″ rain
78″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Burlington listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Burlington-South Burlington area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
73%
Humid climate
Median household income
$74,700
Vermont state median
Top industries (state-level)
HealthcareTourismManufacturing

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Burlington

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

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