Pros and Cons of Living in Vermont

Vermont's tradeoffs run genuinely, honestly in two directions this record does not flatten: a real, consistently favorable safety and healthcare-access picture, a distinctive four-season ski-and-lake recreation identity, and among the cheapest homeowners insurance in the country sit against a genuinely high graduated income tax (8.75% top marginal), one of the nation's highest statewide property tax burdens, a chronic and worsening housing shortage, a small and now-declining population, and real, recent river-valley flooding.

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Pros: a real, consistently favorable safety and healthcare picture, and among the cheapest homeowners insurance in the country

Vermont's real, current crime rate runs consistently favorable across both major categories -- 39% below the national violent-crime average and 7.5% below the national property-crime average, reinforced by a 3rd-place finish in the 2026 US News Crime & Corrections ranking. Vermont's healthcare access ranks consistently in the top 10 nationally across multiple 2026 ranking systems, within an overall strong 10th-of-50 US News Best States standing that includes the nation's #1 ranking in the Opportunity category specifically. Vermont's homeowners insurance runs genuinely, substantially below the national average -- approximately $1,054-$1,170/year, the 2nd-cheapest state in the country per one source, roughly 70% below a roughly $2,490/year national average for comparable coverage.

Pros: a genuine four-season recreation identity anchored by skiing and Lake Champlain, plus a favorable unemployment rate

Vermont's real, substantial $1.6 billion ski-tourism industry (13,000 jobs across 20 member ski areas, 4.357 million skier visits in the 2025-26 season -- the strongest since 2014-15) anchors a genuinely distinctive mountain-and-snow identity across named communities like Stowe, Killington, and Sugarbush, detailed fully in the seasonal-snowbirds topic, while Lake Champlain's more-than-120-mile western shoreline anchors a real, genuine lake-recreation and waterfront-property culture detailed fully in the beaches-coastal-living topic. Vermont's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate held at a real, favorable 2.6% as of June 2026, substantially below the 4.2% national rate -- though this record discloses honestly, consistent with vermont.js's own research, that figure partly reflects a real, current 2.2% year-over-year labor-force contraction tied to Vermont's aging population, not job-market strength alone.

Cons: a genuinely high graduated income tax and one of the nation's highest property tax burdens

Vermont levies a real, graduated individual income tax topping out at an 8.75% top marginal rate (on taxable income above $229,550 for single filers in 2026) -- among the higher top marginal state income tax rates in the country. Vermont's statewide effective property tax rate, per Tax Foundation's own 2026 ranking, runs the 4th highest in the nation (1.51%, with a real, disclosed wider cross-source spread up to approximately 1.90%), compounded by a genuinely distinctive, town-varying statewide homestead/nonhomestead education-property-tax system whose FY2026 bills were projected to rise a real, disclosed 5.9% on average. This record discloses this real, high, two-front tax burden honestly rather than letting Vermont's genuine safety and lifestyle strengths obscure it.

Cons: a chronic housing shortage, a small and declining population, and real, recent flood exposure -- the honest bottom line

Vermont's real, current housing shortage is chronic and worsening -- the state's own 2025-2029 Housing Needs Assessment found approximately 30,000 additional homes needed by 2030, against 2025 production that fell to roughly a third of that need. Vermont's population is small (approximately 644,663-647,464) and, as of the most recent year vermont.js's own research found, genuinely DECLINING (down approximately 1,900, or -0.3%, from 2024-2025 -- the lowest population growth of any US state that year), tied directly to Vermont's real, aging demographic structure. Vermont also carries real, recent, and recurring river-valley flood exposure (catastrophic July 2023 flooding in Montpelier and elsewhere, followed by three separate 2024 flood events), a genuine hazard this record does not omit given Vermont's otherwise favorable safety profile. Vermont rewards movers who directly, honestly weigh its real safety, healthcare, and recreation strengths against its genuinely high tax burden, housing scarcity, and demographic and flood-risk realities.

Key takeaways

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.