What stands out worked out from the figures below

Albany has the most people working from home (9%).

Searsburg has the most kids (27.1% under 18).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Albany	Searsburg
People
Population	135Highest	129Lowest
Median age	42.9±14Lowest about the VT average	45.1±9.8Highest 5% above VT
	Searsburg and Albany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.7%±11.4Lowest VT: 17.9%	27.1%±17.4Highest VT: 17.9%
	Searsburg and Albany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	11.1%±19.1Highest VT: 21.4%	7%±22.6Lowest VT: 21.4%
	Albany and Searsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	41.1%Highest VT: 43.8%	29.2%Lowest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.7%±7.7Lowest VT: 7%	3.1%±8.6Highest VT: 7%
	Searsburg and Albany are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	—	$61,071±$49k 25% below VT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$211,800±$56kHighest 33% below VT	$171,400±$39kLowest 46% below VT
	Albany and Searsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,867Highest 43% below VT	$2,167Lowest 57% below VT
Below poverty line	3.7%Highest VT: 10.1%	0%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	100% VT: 73.2%	100% VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1938Lowest 38 yrs older than VT	1983Highest 7 yrs newer than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	20 minLowest 14% below VT	24 minHighest about the VT average
Work from home	9%±6.3Highest VT: 16.9%	5.7%±5.3Lowest VT: 16.9%
	Albany and Searsburg are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

VT average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.