City · Chittenden County, Vermont

Winooski, Vermont

Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT metro area. It has 8,293 residents. Winooski, Vermont has a quality-of-life score of 94 out of 100 (very high), ranking #938 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Vermont it ranks #5 of 51 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), primary care physicians (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), time spent in the emergency room (high) and comfortable days (low).

94Very high

Quality-of-life score: #938 of 15,651 cities and towns
Vermont: #5 of 51 in VT
Population: 8,293 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 6,005.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 5085150

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety55#7,052/15,637
Economy61#6,102/15,631
Housing37#9,478/14,977
Health83#2,643/15,609
Healthcare96#565/15,650
Environment91#1,459/15,453
Education99#133/15,649
Infrastructure93#1,057/15,650
Community82#2,737/15,651
Leisure & amenities97#414/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Winooski, Vermont ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chittenden 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

Distance to an airport · low5 mi
100/100Vermont 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauChittenden County value
Primary care physicians · high178 /100k
99/100Vermont 113 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChittenden County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
98/100Vermont 11 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauChittenden County value
Mental health providers · high839 /100k
98/100Vermont 599 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChittenden County value
Flu vaccinations · high58.0%
98/100Vermont 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChittenden County value
Public EV charging ports · high23.3 /10k
97/100Vermont 20.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyChittenden County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high53.8%
0/100Vermont 50.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChittenden County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high259 min
2/100Vermont 180 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesChittenden County value
Comfortable days · low21.8%
2/100Vermont 21.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationChittenden County value
Property crime rate · high2,671 /100k
3/100Vermont 1,419 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationChittenden County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.79%
12/100Vermont 1.51%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Job growth · low-1.7%
16/100Vermont -1.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataChittenden County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
7,242 (2015-2019) → 8,293 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
48.2% (2015-2019) → 16.8% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
38.0% (2015-2019) → 59.1% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
29.5% (2015-2019) → 13.8% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.9% (2015-2019) → 91.1% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
3.9 /1k (2021) → 1.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−69%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Winooski, Vermont improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 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.

Improved5

Child poverty−31 points48.2% → 16.8%
Bachelor's++21 points38.0% → 59.1%
Poverty−16 points29.5% → 13.8%
Household income+54%$51,728 → $79,522
Broadband+14 points76.9% → 91.1%

Declined1

Transit use−5.8 points8.2% → 2.4%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Winooski, Vermont between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.1 min2015-2019	21.9 min2020-2024	+3.8 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.0%2015-2019	59.1%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	76.9%2015-2019	91.1%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	77%
Child poverty rate	48.2%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−31 points	Improved	98%
Effective property tax rate	2.14%2015-2019	1.79%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	80%
High school diploma or higher	84.0%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	4.8×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4562015-2019	0.4182020-2024	−0.038	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$51,7282015-2019	$79,5222020-2024	+54%	Improved	87%
Poverty rate	29.5%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	8.2%2015-2019	2.4%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Declined	5%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	54.6%2015-2019	46.8%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.9%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	29%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 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 Winooski, Vermont five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Winooski, 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, Winooski, Vermont itself moved +13.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

8,293 residents (±32)

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

4,102 households (±257)

Winooski, Vermont
Vermont share

Under $25k20%†814
$25k–50k10%†413
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,102 households (±257)

Winooski, Vermont
Vermont share

Own35%1,444
Rent65%2,658

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,669 workers (±349)

Winooski, Vermont
Vermont share

Drive alone65%3,690
Carpool8.0%†453
Public transit2.4%†137

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT

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 Chittenden County, the county holding most of Winooski's residents.

Chittenden County has 5,665 employer establishments, 334 for every 10,000 residents (1.35× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Vermont's), with 88,131 paid employees at an average annual pay of $64,485. The Census Bureau also counts 16,914 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,665; 16,914 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 334; US 248 · Vermont 322
Paid employees: 88,131
Average annual pay: $64,485; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	418	24.7	1.18×About typical	6,515	$68,011	1,149
Specialty trade contractors	382	22.5	1.46×More than typical	3,408	$73,085	875
Restaurants and other eating places	338	19.9	1.09×About typical	5,988	$27,733	62
Lessors of real estate	240	14.2	1.15×About typical	945	$62,685	2,080
Construction of buildings	200	11.8	1.56×More than typical	1,520	$83,155	447
Management, scientific and technical consulting	175	10.3	1.54×More than typical	1,495	$93,029	1,148
Services to buildings and dwellings	166	9.8	1.45×More than typical	1,219	$37,635	765
Offices of other health practitioners	162	9.6	1.57×More than typical	749	$49,657	804
Full-service restaurants	151	8.9	1.16×About typical	3,387	$29,438	28
Building equipment contractors	148	8.7	1.45×More than typical	2,001	$70,977	180
Limited-service restaurants	128	7.6	0.94×About typical	1,887	$26,284	23
Schools, colleges and instruction	124	7.3	2.09×More than typical	3,551	$32,987	778

Rank places for an industry Open Chittenden County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 169,533 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 $1.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Winooski, Vermont: $235 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.9M; −26% vs FY2025
Per resident: $235; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 39%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$1.9M97%
Food and Drug Administration$63.2K3.2%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$4,2120.2%

Top recipients

PRECI-MANUFACTURING, INCORPORATED$1.8M92%
R & M GOVERNMENT SERVICES INC$168.5K8.7%
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC$63.2K3.2%
AIRBORNE SUPPLY INC.$56.2K2.9%
A. J. ASSOCIATES MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING CO. INC.$32.2K1.7%

Spending by fiscal year

2.9MFY2017
4MFY2018
4.8MFY2019
6.5MFY2020
6.2MFY2021
1.5MFY2022
1.6MFY2023
1.6M

Top industries (NAICS)

Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$590.8K30%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$546.1K28%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$496.5K26%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$166K8.5%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$73.7K3.8%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$62.5K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Winooski, Vermont

8511645351!PIN-RIVET$377.5K
PRECI-MANUFACTURING, INCORPORATED· Chittenden County, VT· Other equipment & supplies· Oct 16, 2025 – Jan 8, 2026· SPE4A626P0285
8512101114!PIN,STRAIGHT,HEADLE$111K
PRECI-MANUFACTURING, INCORPORATED· Chittenden County, VT· Other equipment & supplies· May 13, 2026 – May 13, 2026· SPE4A626PQ783
FY24 EMG FS CONDENSER REPAIR & REPLACEMENT PROJECT 24Z2A3D FOOD SERVICE OUTSIDE WAREHOUSE$103.7K
VHV COMPANY· Chittenden County, VT· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 13, 2024 – Oct 15, 2025· 15B21824P00000071
8511110356!STUD,PLAIN

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 Winooski, Vermont, so they do not add up across cities.

Winooski, Vermont's figures are part of those of Chittenden County, VT ($240.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.8% of that total.

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

See federal money in Chittenden 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.

Winooski, 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.

Chittenden County95100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Burlington-South Burlington, VT95

Other cities and towns in Chittenden 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/5085150

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends