What stands out worked out from the figures below

Athens has the most affordable homes ($240k median).

Andover has the most expensive homes ($383k median).

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	Athens	Andover
People
Population	431Lowest	616Highest
Median age	47.3±6.5Lowest 10% above VT	49.2±5.1Highest 14% above VT
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.9%±6.5Highest VT: 17.9%	11.5%±4.9Lowest VT: 17.9%
	Athens and Andover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.6%±4.6Lowest VT: 21.4%	22.7%±4.3Highest VT: 21.4%
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.3%Lowest VT: 43.8%	43.3%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.9%±3Highest VT: 7%	2.8%±1.5Lowest VT: 7%
	Athens and Andover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$68,438±$30kLowest 16% below VT	$102,500±$38kHighest 26% above VT
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$240,400±$32kLowest 24% below VT	$382,900±$68kHighest 21% above VT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,125±$537Lowest 9% below VT	$1,389±$364Highest 13% above VT
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,438Highest 8% above VT	$5,190Lowest about the VT average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	43.5%±39Lowest VT: 48.4%	69.4%±47.1Highest VT: 48.4%
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	12.1%Highest VT: 10.1%	4.6%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	73.7%Lowest VT: 73.2%	82.8%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1973Lowest 3 yrs older than VT	1980Highest 4 yrs newer than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	36 minHighest 53% above VT	25 minLowest 7% above VT
Work from home	19.3%±7.5Lowest VT: 16.9%	29.6%±12.9Highest VT: 16.9%
	Andover and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.