Census-designated place · Caledonia County, Vermont

Hardwick, Vermont

Hardwick is a census-designated place in Caledonia County, Vermont. It has 1,046 residents. Hardwick, Vermont has a quality-of-life score of 59 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,342 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Vermont it ranks #46 of 51 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), high school diploma or higher (high) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), child care cost burden (high) and suicide rate (high).

59Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,342 of 15,651 cities and towns
Vermont: #46 of 51 in VT
Population: 1,046 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 665.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5031750

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety39#9,615/15,637
Economy33#10,395/15,631
Housing22#11,622/14,977
Health41#9,272/15,609
Healthcare74#4,113/15,650
Environment85#2,266/15,453
Education61#6,036/15,649
Infrastructure44#8,704/15,650
Community75#3,934/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,528/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hardwick, Vermont ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Caledonia County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Public libraries · high4.3 /10k
98/100Vermont 2.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCaledonia County value
High school diploma or higher · high98.3%
98/100Vermont 94.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Hot days · low1 days
97/100Vermont 2 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCaledonia County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.9 µg/m³
96/100Vermont 5.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCaledonia County value
Public EV charging ports · high20.7 /10k
96/100Vermont 20.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyCaledonia County value
Grocery stores · high2.6 /10k
91/100Vermont 3.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCaledonia County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low20.9%
1/100Vermont 21.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCaledonia County value
Child care cost burden · high45.7%
2/100Vermont 50.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaledonia County value
Suicide rate · high32.7 /100k
2/100Vermont 21.6 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCaledonia County value
Flu vaccinations · low24.0%
2/100Vermont 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCaledonia County value
Median household income · low$37,214
7/100Vermont $82,836United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013High uncertainty
Effective property tax rate · high2.03%
7/100Vermont 1.51%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.9× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+151%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
50.2% (2015-2019) → 68.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
80.1% (2015-2019) → 98.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
17.3% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.4% (2015-2019) → 50.0% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.298 (2015-2019) → 0.438 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Hardwick, Vermont improved on 0 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Inequality+0.1410.298 → 0.438

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Hardwick, Vermont between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.1 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	+3.2 min	Within the margin of error	18%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.1%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	50.2%2015-2019	68.8%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	88%
High school diploma or higher	80.1%2015-2019	98.3%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	99%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.2982015-2019	0.4382020-2024	+0.141	Declined	2%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.9%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	22%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15075 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Hardwick, Vermont five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hardwick, Vermont in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Hardwick, Vermont itself moved −5.9 points in standing on average over the same 6 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,046 residents (±225)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

545 households (±132)

Hardwick, Vermont
Vermont share

Under $25k5.1%†28
$25k–50k54%†293
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

545 households (±132)

Hardwick, Vermont
Vermont share

Own48%†263
Rent52%†282

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

528 workers (±189)

Hardwick, Vermont
Vermont share

Drive alone78%†410
Carpool4.0%†21
Public transit

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Caledonia County, the county holding most of Hardwick's residents.

Caledonia County has 913 employer establishments, 298 for every 10,000 residents (1.20× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Vermont's), with 8,746 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,998. The Census Bureau also counts 3,292 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 913; 3,292 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 298; US 248 · Vermont 322
Paid employees: 8,746
Average annual pay: $49,998; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Caledonia County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	80	26.1	1.69×More than typical	280	$62,396	410
Ambulatory health care services	54	17.6	0.85×About typical	727	$63,880	187
Restaurants and other eating places	53	17.3	0.94×About typical	581	$24,470	12
Construction of buildings	38	12.4	1.64×More than typical	108	$46,685	194
Services to buildings and dwellings	37	12.1	1.79×More than typical	157	$35,497	255
Individual and family services	28	9.1	3.27×More than typical	249	$42,831	32
Building equipment contractors	27	8.8	1.47×More than typical	65	$58,400	70
Schools, colleges and instruction	24	7.8	2.24×More than typical	618	$49,126	111
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	23	7.5	2.38×More than typical	91	$65,549	61
Full-service restaurants	23	7.5	0.98×About typical	313	$22,677	4
Limited-service restaurants	23	7.5	0.94×About typical	219	$26,854	5
Religious organizations	22	7.2	1.30×More than typical	89	$12,506	—

Rank places for an industry Open Caledonia County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 30,617 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hardwick, Vermont: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

20.2FY2019

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Hardwick, Vermont, so they do not add up across cities.

Hardwick, Vermont's figures are part of those of Caledonia County, VT ($3.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Hardwick is mostly in Caledonia County.

See federal money in Caledonia County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Hardwick, Vermont is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Becca BalintD-VT · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Caledonia County77100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Caledonia County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5031750

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends