What stands out worked out from the figures below

West Haven has the most people working from home (10.4%).

Ira has the most expensive homes ($273k 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	West Haven	Ira
People
Population	234Lowest	381Highest
Median age	54±10.5Lowest 25% above VT	54.1±5.5Highest 26% above VT
	Ira and West Haven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	17.5%±13.3Highest VT: 17.9%	10.5%±4.7Lowest VT: 17.9%
	West Haven and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	29.9%±4.7Highest VT: 21.4%	28.9%±3.3Lowest VT: 21.4%
	West Haven and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.6%Lowest VT: 43.8%	37.1%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.4%±4.4Lowest VT: 7%	3.4%±3.5Highest VT: 7%
	Ira and West Haven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$85,250±$29kHighest 5% above VT	$71,827±$5kLowest 12% below VT
	West Haven and Ira are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$245,000±$34kLowest 23% below VT	$272,900±$18kHighest 14% below VT
	Ira and West Haven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$942±$52 24% below VT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,485Highest 11% below VT	$4,146Lowest 18% below VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100Lowest VT: 48.4%	36.4%±100Highest VT: 48.4%
	Ira and West Haven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	10.3%Lowest VT: 10.1%	14.4%Highest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	90.3%Lowest VT: 73.2%	90.7%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Highest 2 yrs newer than VT	1975Lowest 1 yr older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 8% above VT	28 minHighest 20% above VT
Work from home	10.4%±6.5Highest VT: 16.9%	2.3%±2.2Lowest VT: 16.9%
	West Haven 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.