As the federal government cuts essential services like Medicaid to finance increases in immigration enforcement and sweeping tax cuts for the richest, it’s worth noting that the wealthiest Vermonters are paying some of the lowest marginal state tax rates in decades.
Real wages for the lowest earners in Vermont grew more slowly than in any other New England state; wages for Vermont’s highest earners grew faster than in all NE states except Maine. Together, these trends widened the gap between the lowest and highest wage earners publicassets.org/research-pub...
Vermont Child Tax Credit helps to lifts qualifying Vermont kids out of poverty. This year, the legislature expanded Vermont’s CTC to children under 7, qualifying roughly 5,000 more Vermont kids.
Find out if you qualify and get more info at taxcreditsvt.org
Last July, Congress cut Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion over a decade. For Vermont’s schools and students, reduced Medicaid payments could mean budget shortfalls.
Read more: publicassets.org/research-pub...
Did you know that we are we currently in the longest federal government shutdown in history?
This year, National Women’s Equal Pay Day is March 26th. Vermont's pay gap has been consistently one of the smallest in the country, but at every education level, Vermont women are paid less than men. And the gap is worse for Black, Hispanic, and Native American women.
White flyer with bold colored circles and text about Vermont's refundable tax credits including the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
It’s tax season. Find out if you and your family qualify for some of the refundable state and federal tax credits available to help Vermonters make ends meet. More info at taxcreditsvt.org, including how to file.
Act 73 of 2025 required a number of reports and recommendations from various agencies and working groups to finalize the implementation details of the bill. Many of these reports have now been released and are informing current legislative discussions. Read more: publicassets.org/research-pub...
A powerful reminder from Jared Duval that the state of Vermont has the power to take effective action to protect what we value most.
vermontbiz.com/news/2026/ma...
The latest from our Senior Policy Analyst Jack Hoffman on education reform efforts in Montpelier:
Local communities are looking for help from the Legislature and the AOE. Maybe Montpelier could look at education from their perspective.
publicassets.org/research-pub...
Almost a month into a partial government shutdown and TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard are working without pay. However, $140 billion in supplemental funding for ICE and CBP is expected to allow federal immigration agents to get paid, continue enforcement operations, and expand detention facilities.
In Vermont, the difference between income and rent for two people making minimum wage in 2026 will be more than $25,000. That’s because the Vermont minimum wage has fallen behind and because rents have risen. In the last 5 years the median rent has increased by 35%, more than $300 per month.
The impacts of the 2025 federal reconciliation bill continue to ripple through the state: Vermont will pay nearly $1 billion less in federal taxes each year, with $440 million going to the top 5%. Meanwhile, Vermonters are facing cuts to critical services like food assistance, healthcare and housing
Polls are still open in many communities and you can register to vote at your polling place.
More info: sos.vermont.gov/elections/vo...
There's a lot to celebrate during Black History Month, but there's also a lot to understand about what's happening at the moment and the particular impact of federal action on Black families.
www.epi.org/publication/...
Many of us are preparing for town meeting day school budget votes. The interactive updated town2town report offers a tool to view and assess local education spending and tax data for your town.
publicassets.org/research-publications/ch...
Vermont’s population growth is coming from people moving to the green mountain state from abroad. From 2005 to 2025, the number of people who moved into Vermont from abroad outpaced the number of Vermonters who moved out of the country. Read more: publicassets.org/research-pub...
As town meeting approaches, we’re thinking a lot about our school budget votes – and we’re guessing you are too. A pair of new blogs with some insights:
-- Kicking the tax can: publicassets.org/research-pub...
-- The governance debate is about more than maps: publicassets.org/research-pub...
Senior policy analyst Jack Hoffman’s latest insight into what’s at stake for public education in Vermont is live on the blog and it's worth a read: publicassets.org/research-pub...
DHS funding expired on Friday. TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard personnel are expected to work unpaid. However, programs under CBP and ICE are likely to continue due to Congress’s allocation of $140 billion in supplemental funding. DHS employs more than 2,500 Vermonters, roughly 140 work for TSA or FEMA.
Bar chart showing the percentage of Vermont household by family type that care able to meet their basic needs.
Donut chart showing the breakdown of family type in Vermont.
Vermont families are facing new and growing threats to safety and security, but even before the latest federal actions, many were struggling to make ends meet with incomes below the basic needs standard established by the state.
Learn more: publicassets.org/research-pub...
The federal government is taking actions that undermine the safety and security of all of us. Last week, we hosted a conversation about what Vermonters are doing and what else we can do to mitigate this harm. Charts on the impacts and a list of resources on our site: publicassets.org/research-pub...
Julie braved the cold this morning to make sure that Vermonters can access crucial anti-poverty tax credits. Amidst all the stress and uncertainty folks are experiencing right now, access to additional cash to help with expenses is essential.
www.taxcreditsvt.org
Julie spoke in Senate Economic Security this week – here’s part one of her recap video, jumping into our latest analysis on wages, costs, and basic needs.
(Stay tuned for part two!)
If these were ordinary times, we would expect Gov. Phil Scott to deliver his usual budget address calling for more of the same spending and revenue policies. But these are not ordinary times.
The relationship between Washington and the states has fundamentally changed. The states are facing unprecedented federal cuts, spending freezes and abrupt changes to essential services. This new reality requires a new approach to revenue.
ermont, along with the other states, are going to need to reclaim the money used to provide federal tax cuts to the wealthy. Less help from the federal government doesn’t make us helpless. We can take matters into our own hands and ensure Vermonters get the services they deserve.
If these were ordinary times, we would expect Gov. Phil Scott to deliver his usual budget address calling for more of the same spending and revenue policies. But these are not ordinary times.
See our full statement on Gov. Scott's budget address on our website: publicassets.org/research-pub...
More on housing from State of Working: Household income has grown just 15% since 2019, failing to keep up with rising home prices. In 2019 Vermonters at the median income level could afford about 1/2 of homes in the state; by 2024 that share had dropped to 1/3.
Our research engine is powered by Vermonters like you who know that facts, analysis, and transparency are more essential than ever. Thank you for being part of this work -- and happy New Year.
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Dig into some of the State of Working Vermont data on housing with us:
The median value of primary homes in Vermont jumped by over $119,000 between 2019 and 2024. That’s much larger growth than in the prior five years, when the increase was $18,000.
publicassets.org/research-pub...
State of Working Vermont 2025 is live! Dive into the charts and read the full report: publicassets.org/research-pub...
An image of a map of Vermont with interactive drop down menus about per pupil education spending
A series of 4 bar charts showing the per-pupil spending in the town of Benson
We just released an updated version of our town2town report. The interactive map and charts allow you to view per-pupil spending and tax rates by town from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2026 in relation to the statewide averages. publicassets.org/research-pub...
