In recent years, most of the affordability indicators have shown modest improvement as a percentage of “average household income” in Vermont prior to the onset of the COVD pandemic in early 2020.  With the onset of the pandemic, all of the expenditure burden and the household income indicators (with the exception of 2020 when some expenditure indicators were not published) were impacted by the federal and state public health and other fiscal measures that were taken to address it.  Since the economy has re-opened, household income growth has resumed with median household income reaching $72,431 during calendar year 2021.  Compared to the U.S. CPI-U inflation rate, median household income in Vermont has grown at rate that was 1.6 percentage points per year faster than the annual rate of U.S. CPI inflation since calendar year 2012 (at +3.5% per year for median household income vs. 1.9% rate of increase for CPI-U inflation),  While prospects for near-term economic growth in Vermont remain uncertain as the effects of the pandemic recede, most of the State’s near-term economic performance is a reflection of factors that are beyond our control, and the expenditure levels for many expenditure indicators reflect actions and other factors that can be influenced by the state policymakers over time.  

This data comes from the American Community Survey using 1-year estimates.  The Census skipped reporting state-level median income in 2020, when the pandemic interrupted data collection.  Data is not available for non-Chittenden counties.