What stands out worked out from the figures below

Stannard has the most affordable homes ($216k median).

Waltham has the most people working from home (20.6%).

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	Stannard	Waltham
People
Population	228Lowest	452Highest
Median age	48.3±14.6Lowest 12% above VT	60.8±7.3Highest 41% above VT
	Waltham and Stannard are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.2%±9.1Highest VT: 17.9%	12.8%±7.4Lowest VT: 17.9%
	Stannard and Waltham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	25.9%±8.5Lowest VT: 21.4%	45.4%±3.1Highest VT: 21.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	44.8%Highest VT: 43.8%	39%Lowest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±6.2Lowest VT: 7%	3.1%±2.1Highest VT: 7%
	Waltham and Stannard are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$66,979±$30kLowest 18% below VT	$97,500±$14kHighest 20% above VT
	Waltham and Stannard are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$216,200±$44kLowest 32% below VT	$329,700±$51kHighest 4% above VT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,096±$113 11% below VT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,183Lowest 17% below VT	$5,714Highest 13% above VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100Lowest VT: 48.4%	29.2%±58.6Highest VT: 48.4%
	Waltham and Stannard are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	3.9%Lowest VT: 10.1%	5.3%Highest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	98.1%Highest VT: 73.2%	86.3%Lowest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest 1 yr newer than VT	1986Highest 10 yrs newer than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 16% above VT	28 minHighest 18% above VT
Work from home	8.6%±5.5Lowest VT: 16.9%	20.6%±5.7Highest VT: 16.9%
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.