What stands out worked out from the figures below

Ira has the most expensive homes ($273k median).

Sandgate has the most people working from home (34.6%).

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	Ira	Sandgate
People
Population	381Lowest	435Highest
Median age	54.1±5.5Lowest 26% above VT	55.7±5.4Highest 29% above VT
	Sandgate and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	10.5%±4.7Lowest VT: 17.9%	13.1%±7.5Highest VT: 17.9%
	Sandgate and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	28.9%±3.3Highest VT: 21.4%	26%±11.3Lowest VT: 21.4%
	Ira and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	37.1%Lowest VT: 43.8%	37.8%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.4%±3.5Highest VT: 7%	2.3%±2.4Lowest VT: 7%
	Ira and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$71,827±$5kHighest 12% below VT	$69,167±$19kLowest 15% below VT
	Ira and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$272,900±$18kHighest 14% below VT	$193,800±$31kLowest 39% below VT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$942±$52 24% below VT	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,146Highest 18% below VT	$2,778Lowest 45% below VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	36.4%±100Highest VT: 48.4%	0%±100Lowest VT: 48.4%
	Ira and Sandgate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	14.4%Highest VT: 10.1%	9.7%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	90.7%Lowest VT: 73.2%	94.3%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1975Highest 1 yr older than VT	1959Lowest 17 yrs older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minHighest 20% above VT	27 minLowest 16% above VT
Work from home	2.3%±2.2Lowest VT: 16.9%	34.6%±32.4Highest VT: 16.9%
	Sandgate and Ira 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.