Vermont

How Vermont ranks among the states

Vermont is near the low end of the State Distress Index, and its collections and bankruptcy measures pull its score down most. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found 8.6% of people with a credit record had a debt in collections in early 2025. That was among the lowest shares in the nation. Housing costs cut against the calm picture: 24.9% of Vermont owner households spent at least 30% of income on housing, above the U.S. 22.5%. Owners’ costs are context, not an input to this state index.

Vermont’s quarterly index never reached the middle of the scale

Is Vermont expensive to live in? Rent is below the U.S. median, but many renters are strained

Vermont’s median monthly gross rent was $1,234 in the Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 survey, below the national $1,413. In its separate 2024 survey, 23.6% of Vermont renters spent at least half their income on housing and utilities. The national share was 26.1%. These measures do not cover groceries, transportation, utilities outside rent or taxes, so they are not a complete price index.

What the rent figure leaves out

A statewide median can sit below the U.S. figure while individual households still spend a large share of income to stay housed. The renter-burden estimate measures each household’s own payments against its income. The two estimates use different Census surveys, so dividing the medians would give the wrong answer.

Vermont’s median household income was $82,836 in the Census Bureau’s 2024 county-based estimates. In the separate five-year survey, 73.2% of homes were owner-occupied. Those figures add context, but neither says what a new renter or buyer can afford.

Vermont sets education property-tax rates statewide, while local bills vary. The Vermont Department of Taxes explains the rates; a state index or median rent cannot determine a particular bill.

Essex has Vermont’s highest poverty and distress; Lamoille has its lowest distress

Essex County had the highest poverty rate in Vermont in the Census Bureau’s 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 13.8%. It also has the state’s highest County Distress Index score, 36. Lamoille has the lowest distress score, 5. Washington County had the lowest poverty rate, 6.1%. Poverty and distress identify different county households, even where their extremes coincide.

Every county, by score

The lightest map band holds 11 of Vermont’s 14 counties. The other 3 fall between 30 and 49. No Vermont county reaches the three darker national score bands. This describes the index’s selected measures, not every household expense.

All Vermont counties, ranked →

Vermont’s poverty rate is low nationally, but Essex County stands apart

The Census Bureau estimated Vermont’s 2024 poverty rate at 9.3%, compared with 12.1% nationwide. Only a few states had a lower poverty estimate that year: Vermont ranked tied for 5th lowest. Essex County reached 13.8%; Washington County was at 6.1%. These are Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, not the American Community Survey poverty series used on some other sites.

The next chart follows Vermont and the U.S. poverty rates across the published Census series. Missing years are gaps in the source, not years without poverty.

A poverty threshold is only one way to locate financial pressure. Vermont’s 58,465 residents receiving SNAP in USDA’s cited count and the county differences add context, but these files cannot establish whether everyone eligible receives food help.

What changed in Vermont in the past year

These dated changes affect housing costs or public benefits. The index does not attribute a score move to any one of them.

1. Oct. 1, 2026

   New 3SquaresVT income guidelines took effect

   Vermont’s Department for Children and Families posted its October income guidelines for 3SquaresVT, the state’s SNAP program. The published table sets gross and net monthly income limits by household size. It is a rule for potential eligibility, not a count of recipients or a prediction of benefit changes.

   Vermont Department for Children and Families, October 2026 3SquaresVT income guidelines

2. Oct. 1, 2026

   Some Medicaid eligibility rules changed

   The Department of Vermont Health Access says federal rules narrowed Medicaid eligibility for some immigrants on this date. It says other changes for some adults are scheduled later. This change is separate from the unemployment and debt series in the state index.

   Department of Vermont Health Access, Medicaid changes

3. July 1, 2026

   A new education property-tax year began

   Vermont’s 2026 legislature set the yields and statewide nonhomestead rate for fiscal year 2027 in Act 169. A household’s bill also depends on local rates, property value and any credit; the law’s statewide figures are not a household quote.

   Vermont Department of Taxes, 2026 legislative highlights

4. June 18, 2026

   Property-transfer and valuation rules changed

   Act 164 clarified when a transferred property may use the lower long-term-rental property-transfer-tax rate. The same act changed several valuation and appeal provisions. These provisions concern property administration, not the index’s measured household distress.

   Vermont Department of Taxes, 2026 legislative highlights

5. April 16, 2026

   Storm damage and a power outage reached central Vermont

   The National Weather Service documented a tornado near Williamstown and damaging wind in Orange County. Utilities reported power outages in the affected area. The event shows a local household disruption; no dollar-loss estimate or link to statewide distress is established here.

   National Weather Service, April 2026 Williamstown tornado review

Vermont’s jobless rate is low; Essex has a higher county rate

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated Vermont’s seasonally adjusted August 2026 unemployment rate at 2.6%, below the U.S. 4.1%. Essex County’s county rate was 3.1%; Addison’s was 2.3%. County rates are not seasonally adjusted, so they do not use exactly the same method as the state rate.

The unemployment chart shows the state and national paths behind today’s comparison. It gives more context than a single month without treating a short move as a lasting shift.

Unemployment measures people seeking work, not every source of household income. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates wages accounted for 44.7% of Vermont personal income in 2024, against 49.7% nationally. Transfers and investments make up other parts of that accounting.

Fewer Vermont borrowers are seriously late on cards and car loans

In the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s early 2025 records, 8.8% of Vermont card borrowers were at least 90 days late, compared with a population-weighted U.S. state average of 13.5%. Car-loan and mortgage borrower rates were also below their national comparisons. These are shares of people who hold each kind of credit, not shares of all Vermonters.

Borrowers who are behind

Vermont’s gaps with the national shares appear together below for cards, auto loans, mortgages and collections. Each bar uses the Philadelphia Fed’s borrower measure; the collection share counts people with a credit record.

Vermont’s late-payment shares are below the national comparisons

Borrowers at least 90 days late in early 2025; collections is the share with a debt in collections.

Credit cards

Vermont 8.8% U.S. 13.5%

Car loans

Vermont 4.6% U.S. 8.5%

Mortgages

Vermont 0.9% U.S. 1.2%

Collections

Vermont 8.6% U.S. 13.2%

Dollars late are a separate measure

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s panel counts the share of loan dollars at least 90 days late. For Vermont card balances, the end-of-2025 share was 9.0%, against 12.4% nationally. It was 5.8% in 2019. These dollar shares do not replace the Philadelphia Fed’s borrower shares.

Vermont has one of the lowest bankruptcy filing rates

U.S. Courts recorded 283 Vermont bankruptcy filings in 2025. Using the Census Bureau’s 2025 population, the rate was 43.9 per 100,000 residents, 3rd lowest among the states and D.C. Filings are cases opened in court, not a count of households currently late on a bill.

The filing rate and late-payment chart cover different events and populations. Vermont’s 2025 filings were above the 2024 count, but the state remained near the low end of the national per-resident list. The court’s table does not show case outcomes. Read national bankruptcy statistics →

Mortgage trouble is uncommon in the measured panel; Vermont foreclosure has its own rules

Among Vermont mortgage borrowers, 0.9% were at least 90 days late in the Philadelphia Fed’s early 2025 panel; the corresponding national share was 1.2%. The Federal Housing Finance Agency estimated 2.1% of Vermont mortgages had less than 10% equity in the second quarter of 2026. Those figures do not count foreclosure filings or identify what happens to an individual loan.

Vermont’s foreclosure process depends on the mortgage and court record. The Vermont foreclosure overview explains the general rules and points to local sources; it is not a conclusion about any one case.

What Vermont mortgage borrowers reported to the CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public database holds 740 Vermont mortgage complaints from January 2012 through the October 2026 cutoff. The newest reports about payments or mortgage help appear below. The bureau records consumer accounts; it does not verify each allegation or estimate how often a problem occurs among all borrowers.

The Vermont foreclosure overview lists the general process and public help sources.

What to watch before the next Vermont edition

These scheduled decisions and releases come after the October 2026 figures.

1. Nov. 20, 2026

   October state unemployment report

   The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics schedules state unemployment rates for October. Monthly estimates can be revised.

   U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, state release calendar

2. Jan. 1, 2027

   Federal Medicaid changes for some adults

   Vermont’s Department of Vermont Health Access lists work and eligibility-review changes scheduled for some adults. The final effects on enrollment are not measured in the October 2026 figures.

   Department of Vermont Health Access, Medicaid changes

3. Jan. 15, 2027

   State housing report due

   The Vermont Legislature’s 2026 act summary schedules a report from the State Treasurer on the Off-Site Construction Accelerator Pilot Program. A due date is not a finding about homes built.

   Vermont Legislature, 2026 act summaries

Where Vermont ranks highest and lowest

The table keeps each measure’s producer, period and direction visible. A low rank in a distress measure does not give the same reading as a low income rank.