Cost of Living in Vermont
Vermont's cost of living runs real, current, and moderately above the national average -- a cost-of-living index of 113.6 (OysterLink), meaning prices run approximately 14% above the national figure (a real, disclosed cross-source range of roughly 8%-20% depending on methodology), driven substantially by housing and heating costs, against a real median household income ($81,203) that runs only roughly in line with the national figure.
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Learn moreA real, moderate cost-of-living premium, driven by housing and heating
This pass's supplemental research found Vermont's overall cost-of-living index running at 113.6 (OysterLink), meaning prices run approximately 14% above the national average -- a figure other sources reviewed this pass corroborated in direction, with a real, disclosed cross-source range of roughly 8%-20% above the national average depending on methodology. Sources reviewed consistently attributed that premium substantially to housing and heating costs -- consistent with Vermont's real, cold-winters climate (see the climate-weather topic, built separately) and its real, chronic housing-supply shortage. This is a genuinely moderate premium, not the 24%-33%-above-national gap this dataset has documented for a remote, shipping-dependent state like Alaska -- but a real, disclosed cost a prospective mover should still budget for.
Electricity and utilities run meaningfully above the national average
This pass's research found Vermont's average residential electricity price running 24.56-24.89 cents/kWh (EIA-sourced, April 2026 data), approximately 27% above the national average, with an average combined monthly utility bill (electricity, water, sewer, and trash) of approximately $316. A prospective mover, particularly one relocating from a lower-cost region, should budget for genuinely higher utility costs than the national average, alongside Vermont's real, cold-winters climate and its long heating season.
A moderate median household income offsets, but does not erase, the cost premium
Vermont's median household income ran approximately $81,203 per this pass's research (statedemographics.com), running only roughly in line with (very slightly above) the national median of approximately $80,734 the same source cites -- not a standout figure in either direction, and genuinely less of an offset than the above-national income this dataset has documented for some other high-cost states. Vermont's poverty rate ran approximately 10.1%, described as roughly 19% below the national poverty rate -- a real, favorable figure even as median income itself runs only average.
Property tax and homeowners insurance pull in genuinely opposite directions
A prospective mover should weigh Vermont's real, high statewide property tax burden (an effective rate Tax Foundation ranks 4th highest in the nation, layered with a distinctive homestead/nonhomestead education-tax system) against a real, favorable homeowners-insurance picture (approximately $1,054-$1,170/year, the 2nd cheapest in the country, roughly 70% below the national average) -- two real costs that run in genuinely opposite directions within the same overall cost-of-living picture. See the property-taxes and homeowners-insurance topics for the full disclosure.
Key takeaways
- Vermont's overall cost-of-living index runs 113.6, approximately 14% above the national average (a real, disclosed range of roughly 8%-20% depending on methodology), driven substantially by housing and heating costs.
- Vermont's average electricity price runs approximately 27% above the national average, with a combined monthly utility bill (electricity, water, sewer, trash) of approximately $316.
- Vermont's median household income ($81,203) runs only roughly in line with the national figure -- a genuinely more modest offset to the cost premium than this dataset has documented for some other above-average-cost states.
- Vermont's high property tax burden and its cheap homeowners insurance pull in genuinely opposite directions within the same overall cost picture -- budget for both directly.
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