Average Salary in Vermont (VT)

Vermont is the second-smallest state by population, and that scale makes its economic statistics sensitive to the trajectory of a handful of large employers. The $71,084 median household income is below the national average, and the cost-of-living index of 115 pushes effective purchasing power meaningfully below nominal wages — Vermont is more expensive than its income levels suggest, driven by heating costs, grocery prices, and Chittenden County housing. The University of Vermont Medical Center anchors healthcare employment statewide, and GlobalFoundries' Essex Junction fab (acquired from IBM in 2015) is one of the largest private employers. Tourism — primarily skiing in winter and leaf-peeping and outdoor recreation in summer and autumn — is a significant share of the economy, particularly in Stowe, Killington, and the Mad River Valley. State income tax has four brackets ranging from 3.35% to 8.75%. The $14.15/hour minimum wage is indexed. Property taxes are high by New England standards. Vermont has both an estate tax and unusually progressive transfer taxes. Burlington is the only urban core of any meaningful scale and increasingly functions as the state's economic gravity centre. Full data follows.