Postal Codes

05251 ZIP Code

Advertisement

English Español

ZIP code 05251 covers Dorset, Vermont, with a population of about 1,395.

Population
1,39534 per square mile
Median age
48.39.6 points above the US average
Poverty rate
15.6%3.2 points above the US average
Typical home value
$825,618up 18.3% in five years
Degree or higher
69.6%34.6 points above the US average
Homeownership
95%30 points above the US average
Time zone
Eastern UTC-05:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
71

Where 05251 is

Dorset, Vermont — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population1,395
Median age48.3
Family households67.4%
Born outside the US3.2%
Speaks a language other than English at home6.1%
White (non-Hispanic)91.7%
Black (non-Hispanic)1.3%
Asian (non-Hispanic)2.7%
Hispanic or Latino0%
Veterans9%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Income per person$65,729
Poverty rate15.6%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance2.1%

Household income distribution

Under $10k8.3%
$10–15k6.2%
$15–20k0.4%
$20–25k1.4%
$25–30k0.7%
$30–35k1.1%
$35–40k1.1%
$40–45k3.0%
$45–50k0.9%
$50–60k4.8%
$60–75k4.1%
$75–100k11.2%
$100–125k8.7%
$125–150k10.5%
$150–200k16.1%
$200k or more21.6%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed770
Mean adjusted gross income$183,540
Returns declaring $200,000 or more19.5%
Returns, under $25k27.3%
Returns, $25k–$50k13.0%
Returns, $50k–$75k13.0%
Returns, $75k–$100k9.1%
Returns, $100k–$200k18.2%
Returns, $200k or more19.5%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$463,500
Owner-occupied95%
Vacant homes51.9%
Median year built1972

What the homes are

Detached house93.5%
Attached house1.6%
Mobile home4.9%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$825,618as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yearup 3.1%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 18.3%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 74.8%
Typical home value since 2000
200020132026$861,819$237,140

$237,140 in 2000 to $825,618 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate1.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher69.6%
High school diploma or higher98.8%
Works from home24.7%
Drives to work alone65.8%
Takes public transport0%
Commutes 45 minutes or more2.6%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity29.5% 3.9 pts below the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes10.6% 1.4 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes10% 3.2 pts below the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure38.5% 4.4 pts above the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health14.6% 5.7 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)4.6% 6.7 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression27.3% 5.4 pts above the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity18.6% 6.8 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis34.8% 9.7 pts above the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking13.7% 2.3 pts below the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication80.5% 5.8 pts above the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)13.1% 5.4 pts above the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma11.1% 0.7 pts above the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease7.9% 1.7 pts above the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year80.7% 4 pts above the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening90.3% 4.4 pts above the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability10.3% 4.5 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening74.6% 10.3 pts above the national average of 64.3%
COPD7.2% 0.6 pts above the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist69.9% 8.6 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability28.3% 2.4 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Hearing disability9.3% 2.6 pts above the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol36.3% same as the national average of 36.2%
Independent living disability6.6% 1.8 pts below the national average of 8.4%
Mammography use78.4% 2.5 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)13.7% 3.1 pts below the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability13.2% 0.8 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)13.5% same as the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3.3% 0.7 pts below the national average of 4%
Sleeps under 7 hours31.7% 4.7 pts below the national average of 36.4%
Stroke3.9% 0.5 pts above the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost9% 4 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability4% 1.6 pts below the national average of 5.6%
Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments71
People employed479
Annual payroll$23,179,000
Advertisement
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 57% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingRelatively Moderate
Expected annual loss60.1 out of 100
Community resilience61.1 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Landslide95.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave92.2Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding76.5Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Hurricane75Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning69.9Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire68.5Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Winter weather67.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Avalanche59.9Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm59.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail56.3Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind45.9Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake43Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado31.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave13.2Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with Vermont and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPVermontUnited States
Median household income$78,024$78,538
Income per person$65,729$44,365$43,289
Poverty rate15.6%10.3%12.4%
Median home value$463,500$290,500$303,400
Median gross rent$1,193$1,348
Homeownership95%72.8%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher69.6%42.6%35%
Unemployment rate1.4%3.7%5.2%
Works from home24.7%15%13.5%
Born outside the US3.2%4.3%13.9%
Median age48.34338.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationPERU, VT US13.8 km away
Rain in a year51 in

Average high and low by month

January26.6°F / 7.8°F3.9 in rain
February30.5°F / 10.4°F3.4 in rain
March37.9°F / 17.3°F4.15 in rain
April50.3°F / 29.8°F3.97 in rain
May64.1°F / 42°F4.06 in rain
June69.7°F / 51.3°F5.01 in rain
July74.7°F / 56.4°F4.49 in rain
August72.9°F / 54.6°F4.64 in rain
September67°F / 47.4°F3.98 in rain
October56°F / 36.7°F5.16 in rain
November42.7°F / 25.8°F3.75 in rain
December32.1°F / 15.9°F4.47 in rain
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
Far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
No vehicle and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

This ZIP code is served by 3 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.

Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union50% of this ZIP code's land area
Taconic and Green Regional School District41.9% of this ZIP code's land area
Mettawee School District8.1% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability11more vulnerable than 11% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status30more vulnerable than 30% of US census tracts
Household characteristics9more vulnerable than 9% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status12more vulnerable than 12% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport17more vulnerable than 17% of US census tracts
Walkability6.9 out of 20Below average
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

05253 East Dorset, VT6.3 km away
05776 West Rupert, VT9.2 km away
05255 Manchester Center, VT10.7 km away
05254 Manchester, VT11.1 km away
05739 Danby, VT11.7 km away
05768 Rupert, VT11.9 km away
05761 Pawlet, VT11.9 km away
05152 Peru, VT15.4 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Bennington County100% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneEastern (UTC-05:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area41.62 sq mi
Water area0.05 sq mi
Population density34 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude43.2636, -73.0766

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

Advertisement