Vermont by the numbers
In Vermont, the median worker earns $52,410 a year, the typical home is worth $290,500 and carries $4,956 of property tax, and the average household pays $140 a month for electricity at 24.89¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Northeast ISO New England Regulated monopoly
Energy
Vermont looks like an outlier next to Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the reason is contractual. The state's utilities hold long-term supply agreements, notably large blocks of Hydro-Québec output plus in-region hydro and nuclear, rather than buying most of their energy at the ISO New England spot price. When regional gas prices spike in January, Vermont's exposure is a fraction of its neighbours'.
The state also has no retail choice. That removes the six-month default-service reset that makes New Hampshire and Massachusetts step up and down, and replaces it with a rate case. Costs accumulate, the regulator reviews them, and a change is approved once. The result is a rate that drifts rather than jumps.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, Vermont households used 597 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $140. At the state median wage that is about 5.6 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $5.74 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median Vermont worker earned $52,410 in 2024, 5.9% above the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 11.68× | $51,540 |
| Highway Maintenance Workers | 3.41× | $56,420 |
| Food Batchmakers | 3.2× | $47,390 |
| Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators | 3.1× | $52,820 |
| Social and Community Service Managers | 2.79× | $77,260 |
Property tax
The median Vermont homeowner pays $4,956 a year on a home worth $290,500, an effective rate of 1.71% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 14 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in Vermont run at 98.0 where the national average is 100, ranking it #23 of 51. Goods sit at 97.3, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 86.5, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $52,410 therefore buys what $53,480 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Burlington-South Burlington (100.9) .
Housing
House prices in Vermont rose 7.2% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +115.1%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Who supplies the power
5 utilities report residential service in Vermont, together serving 284,469 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Vermont: common questions
What does it cost to live in Vermont?
Prices overall run at 98.0 against a national average of 100, with rents at 86.5. The typical home is worth $290,500 and carries $4,956 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.71% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $140 a month at 24.89¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $52,410.
What is the property tax rate in Vermont?
The effective rate is 1.71% of home value, from a median bill of $4,956. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 14 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in Vermont?
The median wage of $52,410 buys what $53,480 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line Vermont falls on.
Is Vermont expensive for electricity?
It ranks #11 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 24.89¢ per kilowatt-hour, +35.0% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 32 of 51, because households there use 597 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in Vermont?
$52,410 across all occupations, about $25.20 an hour, covering 304,170 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in Vermont?
5 utilities report residential service, the largest being Green Mountain Power Corp with 226,675 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources