What stands out worked out from the figures below

West Burke has the most people working from home (20%).

Ira has the highest household income ($72k).

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	West Burke	Ira
People
Population	161Lowest	381Highest
Median age	59.2±16.3Highest 37% above VT	54.1±5.5Lowest 26% above VT
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	11.8%±10.4Highest VT: 17.9%	10.5%±4.7Lowest VT: 17.9%
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	31.1%±13.2Highest VT: 21.4%	28.9%±3.3Lowest VT: 21.4%
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	28.7%Lowest VT: 43.8%	37.1%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5%±3.3Highest VT: 7%	3.4%±3.5Lowest VT: 7%
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$27,321±$15kLowest 66% below VT	$71,827±$5kHighest 12% below VT
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$275,000±$60kHighest 13% below VT	$272,900±$18kLowest 14% below VT
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$525±$373Lowest 57% below VT	$942±$52Highest 24% below VT
	Ira and West Burke are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,194Lowest 37% below VT	$4,146Highest 18% below VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	77.8%±31.3Highest VT: 48.4%	36.4%±100Lowest VT: 48.4%
	West Burke and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	20.5%Highest VT: 10.1%	14.4%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	61.3%Lowest VT: 73.2%	90.7%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1938Lowest 38 yrs older than VT	1975Highest 1 yr older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 7% above VT	28 minHighest 20% above VT
Work from home	20%±10.4Highest VT: 16.9%	2.3%±2.2Lowest VT: 16.9%
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.