Which Vermont counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 14 Vermont counties we have scored, Bennington County scores highest at 91 and Windsor County lowest at 80. Vermont ranks 30th of 50 overall, at 85 out of 100 (Good with caveats). Buildability separates its counties most: 5 to 9 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 14 counties · 200 spots of private rural land scored

Good with caveatsVermont ranks 30th of 50, 85 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #28 and #31. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Vermont, best score first

Find a county14 counties


Bennington → 55 people / sq mi	91	25	20	12	15	10	9
Grand Isle → 91 people / sq mi	90	24	20	11	14	12	9
Addison → 49 people / sq mi	89	25	20	11	15	10	8
Orange → 44 people / sq mi	89	25	20	12	15	10	7
Franklin → 81 people / sq mi	88	25	20	10	15	11	7
Lamoille → 57 people / sq mi	88	25	20	10	14	11	8
Caledonia → 47 people / sq mi	85	25	20	10	14	9	7
Chittenden → 316 people / sq mi	85	25	20	11	14	10	5
Orleans → 40 people / sq mi	85	25	20	10	14	9	7
Rutland → 65 people / sq mi	85	25	20	11	14	10	5
Washington → 88 people / sq mi	85	25	20	10	14	9	7
Windham → 59 people / sq mi	85	25	20	12	14	9	5
Essex → 9 people / sq mi	81	25	18	9	14	8	7
Windsor → 60 people / sq mi	80	25	20	10	11	9	5

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

75% of Vermont's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Bennington, Grand Isle and Addison. The weakest are Windsor, Essex and Caledonia. Where the land falls short, it is most often on building (slope, septic and land price) and energy (sun, and heating and cooling needs).

What separates them

Buildability: Bennington County scores 9 of 10, Windsor County 5. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Hazard: Bennington County scores 15 of 15, Windsor County 11. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Food: Grand Isle County scores 12 of 15, Essex County 8. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Solar: Bennington County scores 12 of 15, Essex County 9. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.

Legal and Water barely move across the sample: the counties score within two points of each other there, so those are state-level facts, not county choices.

The state's soft spot

Solar is Vermont's weakest dimension, at 10 of 15 for the state as a whole. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $34k to $90k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Vermont row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Vermont

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Vermont? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Good with caveatsVermont: 85 of 100, 30th of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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