PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Burlington-South Burlington, VT

39.3
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#337
of 387 metros
13%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Burlington ranks #337 of 387 US metros, ahead of 13% - carried by its wages (82/100) and held back most by rent (6/100).

82
strongest: Wages
78
then: Safety
6
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Burlington sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 13th percentile higher than 13% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Burlington Life Score

Burlington's composite score of 39.3 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #337 of 387, ahead of 13% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (82/100) and Safety (78/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (6/100) and Schools (13/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 100.9 (rent-RPP 103.8). BLS median salary $78,385, 108,730 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,140/mo (studio $1,497).

FBI UCR (VT): 225 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 11.9:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (VT). Ranks #334-#340 below.

Dimension detail

How Burlington scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 18/100 (20%)
Wages 82/100 (20%)
Rent 6/100 (15%)
Safety 78/100 (15%)
Schools 13/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 13/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$78,385
Avg Median Salary
$2,140
2BR Fair Market Rent
225
Violent Crime/100K (VT)
11.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
14
Superfund Sites (VT)
108,730
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Burlington With...

Burlington vs Wildwood Compare → Burlington vs Waterloo Compare → Burlington vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Burlington outranks 13% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#334 Gettysburg, PA 39.4 C-
#335 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 39.5 C-
#336 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 39.5 C-
#337 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-
#338 Chattanooga, TN-GA 39.3 C-
#339 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 39.1 C-
#340 Glens Falls, NY 39.0 C-

Using Burlington's Life Score

Burlington is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (82/100) and its weakest is rent (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Burlington head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Burlington lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Burlington's biggest strengths? ▼
Burlington's strongest dimensions are Wages (82/100), Safety (78/100), Cost of Living (18/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Burlington's weakest areas? ▼
Burlington's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (6/100), Schools (13/100), Environment (13/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Burlington compared to the national average? ▼
Burlington's Regional Price Parity is 100.9 (0.9% more than national); rent RPP 103.8.
What is the average salary in Burlington? ▼
Burlington median salary: $78,385, 108,730 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Burlington's 39.3/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.