Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Burlington's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Burlington?
Your $100,000 in Burlington has the same purchasing power as $112,994 in the average US city. You'd need $12,994 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Burlington's cost index of 89, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Burlington usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, clean air, by the numbers, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Burlington sits at 89 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 12% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $947/mo against a typical household income of $52,963, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Burlington's air quality index averages about 42 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Burlington is about 24 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Burlington's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 32°F, Burlington sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Burlington averages about 32°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Burlington runs about 87°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Burlington's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Burlington is at about 679 feet (207 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of Burlington learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
Higher than average. Burlington reports about 4,633 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Burlington's composite cost-of-living index is 89, roughly 12% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Mostly car-dependent. Burlington's Walk Score of 38/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest.
Roughly $61,950 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Burlington runs about $947/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.