Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.

Nearly two-thirds of Vermonters ages 18 to 34 say they’re likely to leave the state within five years in search of adventure or a cheaper place to live, according to a poll from the University of New Hampshire.  

Overall, the poll estimated that 86% of Vermonters find the state at least somewhat unaffordable.

“The issue of affordability has been a very important thing across New England,” said UNH political science professor Andrew Smith, who runs the institution’s survey center. The poll, released Tuesday, includes response data for five New England states, excluding Maine.

In general, the survey found, most residents say Vermont is a good place to live — or even a great one.

Nevertheless, about 40% of Vermonters of all ages want to leave the state, according to the report from Smith’s team. Housing prices and other cost-of-living concerns are the foremost drivers of the trend, researchers found, followed by tax rates. Connecticut and Rhode Island showed similar overall rates of desired departure.

Among young people, though, Vermont’s numbers stand out.

Smith’s research found that 63% percent of Vermonters between 18 and 34 say they’re somewhat or very likely to move out of the state in the next five years. That’s a much higher rate of planned departure than in any other state surveyed. Responses varied from 28% in New Hampshire to 44% in Connecticut. 

But according to Smith, New England often sees a beneficial “boomerang effect”: former residents eventually returning to their home states, often as higher earners.

In a Wednesday press conference, Gov. Phil Scott said that although he hadn’t seen the poll, he wasn’t surprised by reports that many Vermonters are considering a move.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration out there,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do to make Vermont the affordable state that these folks need.”

About half of young Vermonters who said they want to move away cited the cost of living as a primary reason, while roughly as many said they were looking for a “new adventure or more excitement.” By contrast, less than a quarter of those older than 64 foresee leaving, according to the poll. 

Outmigration of young people could worsen the state’s existing workforce shortage, according to Kevin Chu, who leads the research nonprofit the Vermont Futures Project. Scott’s administration has made workforce development a priority in light of what his office called a “growing demographic crisis.”

Chu added that by design, services such as public education and healthcare are supported disproportionately by working households that tend to pay higher taxes and insurance premiums. When the base of income earners shrinks, the problem can then intensify for those bearing the brunt of rising costs, he added.

“There’s a demographic reality in which the economic burden is being shouldered by a small and shrinking pool of young working-age people,” Chu said.

Tuesday’s poll also indicated that Vermonters who have completed more education say they’re less likely to leave the state. For Chu, that’s likely because such households tend to earn more — and also because they tend to be older.

Julie Lowell, deputy director of the Montpelier research nonprofit Public Assets Institute, offered a grain of salt in relation to Tuesday’s report. While migration is crucial to keep track of, Vermont’s overall population turnover tends to be about 5% or less each year, she said. And although the state does have an unusual number of young people intending to leave, that age group is always the most mobile in any study, she said.

In recent years, more of Vermont’s older population has possessed more wealth to contribute to public services, Lowell added. For example, she said, her organization has found that more Vermonters aging out of the workforce has not appeared to decrease state tax revenues in recent years. 

But it’s true that many Vermonters are struggling to make ends meet, she said. The state’s lowest earners have seen low wage growth in relation to other New England states, she said, and basic needs are getting harder to cover.

“We’re seeing prices, in large part driven by housing and healthcare, really outpacing our increases in household incomes,” Lowell said. “Many people are feeling insecure.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city is suing social media companies — including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — over their alleged deliberate targeting of minors with addictive features. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools in federal court in California, will be consolidated with more than 1,500 similar complaints from school districts around the country, Wu’s office said.

The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to remove addictive features and compensate the city for the mental health support needed by students. It alleges the companies designed addictive features specifically to keep young people engaged. These features include endless scrolling, frequent notifications, and personalized algorithms, city officials said. 

In a statement, Wu said that these companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to children. 

“Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable. Today, we are making it clear that social media companies must end exploitative practices and be accountable to standards of basic protection for children,” she said. 

The move comes as more Massachusetts politicians look to rein in social media companies.  The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would implement a phone ban in schools and prohibit children 14 and younger from using social media. Gov. Maura Healey followed that up by introducing legislation that would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and limit the ways in which minors are exposed to potentially addictive design features.

Just last week, the state Senate unveiled legislation that would require social media companies to automatically disable these types of features for minors. 

BPS officials say that they have seen a “significant increase” in social media-fueled mental health needs over the past decade. They cited data from the Boston Public Health Commission that shows the impact on high school students. In 2015, just 26.7% of Boston public high school students reported “persistent sadness.” By 2021, that figure had risen to 43.9%. 

The district says it has responded by “exponentially” expanding mental health resources. In 2007, there were six social workers and 48 school psychologists employed in the BPS system. The district now has 240 social workers and 105 school psychologists, officials said. 

“We work hard to set our students on the best course for success through rigorous academics and whole-student supports, and the research is clear that social media has had a negative impact on students’ well-being while benefiting companies. We all need to do what is right for our students,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement. 

In March, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube are liable for intentionally designing addictive features and that executives failed to protect young users. 

In May, Meta and other social media companies settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district in a bellwether case.