What stands out worked out from the figures below

Whiting has the most expensive homes ($280k median).

Marshfield has the most people working from home (17.5%).

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	Whiting	Marshfield
People
Population	532Highest	470Lowest
Median age	39.6±2.7Lowest 8% below VT	42.4±8.8Highest about the VT average
	Marshfield and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	23.5%±6.9Highest VT: 17.9%	19.4%±9.1Lowest VT: 17.9%
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	13%±5.1Highest VT: 21.4%	10.2%±4.4Lowest VT: 21.4%
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	25.9%Lowest VT: 43.8%	35.7%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.2%±4Highest VT: 7%	3.6%±2.4Lowest VT: 7%
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,250±$38kHighest 12% above VT	$84,375±$20kLowest 4% above VT
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$280,400±$36kHighest 11% below VT	$178,300±$31kLowest 44% below VT
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,204±$519Highest about the VT average	$1,125±$79Lowest 9% below VT
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,227Highest 16% below VT	$3,269Lowest 35% below VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	58.3%±37.3Highest VT: 48.4%	52.4%±62.4Lowest VT: 48.4%
	Whiting and Marshfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	11.5%Highest VT: 10.1%	4.9%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	65.4%Lowest VT: 73.2%	81.2%Highest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1975Highest 1 yr older than VT	1938Lowest 38 yrs older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 7% below VT	29 minHighest 24% above VT
Work from home	10%±5.4Lowest VT: 16.9%	17.5%±7.2Highest VT: 16.9%
	Marshfield and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53	—
High school in town	None in town	—
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.