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IRS data shows most Vermonters stay put: What the numbers say about those who moved in

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IRS data shows most Vermonters stay put: What the numbers say about those who moved in


For three years in a row, more people have moved into Vermont than out, and many of them were well-off, according to data from the IRS.

The nonprofit Public Assets Institute in Montpelier analyzed recently released IRS data from tax filings in 2022 to determine that two of the years of growth in Vermont’s population occurred during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and 2022. More than half of the people arriving in Vermont in 2022 were so-called millennials − the generation born between 1981 and 1996 − and a quarter of those who moved here had incomes of $100,000 or more annually.

The IRS has collected data on movement of the population between states for more than 35 years, based on tax filings, and in 2012 the agency also started tracking migration by age and income of the primary filer. Public Assets points out that because of how the data are collected, they can see only the age of the person filing the return and the total number of exemptions, which they use as a proxy for the number of people in the household.

The IRS data does not include specific information on the makeup of households, however, such as the number and ages of children. Neither does the data distinguish how much of the total income was received before or after the taxpayer arrived in Vermont.

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IRS data shows the wealthy do not appear to be fleeing Vermont, as has often been speculated

Public Assets drew the following conclusions from the IRS data:

  • Half of all filers who moved into Vermont in 2022 were 26 to 44 years old, an age range that closely matches the millennial generation. It appears some in that age group arrived with children, but it’s impossible to know how many. The state saw a decrease in only one age bracket: filers under 26. Vermont saw a drop of about 500 people in their early 20s, but in all other age brackets, from young professionals to seniors, Vermont saw population growth from migration, wtih millennials accounting for the largest share of overall growth.
  • The IRS data on income undercut an often repeated claim that the wealthy are fleeing Vermont, according to Public Assets. From 2012 to 2022, Vermont had a net gain in filers with incomes of $200,000 or more in all but one year. In 2022, for every three filers in that income bracket who left the state, five moved in. Based on the most recent data, Vermont saw net gains among filers with incomes of $50,000 or more and net losses among filers earning less than $50,000. Just more than half of the filers who moved out of the state earned less than $50,000.
  • Nearly half of all people who moved out of Vermont in 2022 stayed in the northeastern United States, with more than a third relocating across the border to a neighboring state. This was also true for people moving into Vermont − more than a third moved from New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Overall, only about 3% of Vermonters moved out in 2022, which has been the pattern for 30 years. We like it here.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.



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Who are Vermont’s biggest landowners? The biggest private land owner owns 86,000 acres

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Who are Vermont’s biggest landowners? The biggest private land owner owns 86,000 acres


Great places to view fall foliage in Burlington, VT

It’s leaf-peeping season in Vermont. Here are six places to see the fall foliage in Burlington, the Green Mountain State’s largest city.

Vermont might not be a huge state but the amount of land the largest landholder owns might surprise you.

The World Population Review drew on 2025 data and found the biggest land owners in each state of the country.

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“Approximately 60% of land in the United States is privately owned, and just a few individuals and families control a significant proportion of this land,” they said.

Here’s what the World Population Review said.

What is Weyerhaeuser

Owning 86,000 acres of forestland, Plum Creek Timber Company was the largest landowner in Vermont, but it merged with Weyerhaeuser in 2016, the Review said, technically making Weyerhaeuser the biggest landowner in Vermont.

Weyerhaeuser also owns land outside of Vermont.

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The state website said that the Kingdom Heritage Lands that encompasses the West Mountain Wildlife Management Area as well as the public easement on private timber lands are currently owned by Weyerhaeuser.

“Essex Timber Company acquired 84,000 acres for working forestry, with easements protecting certain natural resources and guaranteeing perpetual public access,” the Vermont government website said. “This land was subsequently purchased by the Plum Creek Timber Company and again purchased by Weyerhaeuser.”

Today, the company manages land for wood production, conservation, and recreation. There are 20 miles of hiking trails as well as rock climbing opportunities.

According to investor.weyerhaeuser.com, Weyerhaeuser owns and manages 10.4 million acres of timberlands across the United States, making its overall market capitalization approximately $17.2 billion.

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Weyerhaeuser also has had its fair share of controversy, facing repeated accusations of violating the Clean Water Act and dozens of charges for stormwater discharge violations in the state of Washington. They have continued to deny wrongdoing and have settled in the past to end legal proceedings.

In 2016, Weyerhaeuser faced legal controversy when the Vermont Supreme Court said that their loggers cut down more trees than they were allowed to cut. They would settle with the state for $375,000 in 2017.

“Our environmental stewardship in these northern forests is shaped by responsible forest management, the geography of our ownership and past land management practices,” Weyerhaeuser’s website said. “Our forest management plans address biodiversity in line with state and federal environmental laws, collaborative projects with a variety of stakeholders, and practices that support sustainable forestry.”

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.



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Obituary for John Lutz at Day Funeral Home

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Obituary for John  Lutz at Day Funeral Home


John Lutz, 86, died peacefully on October 16, 2025, surrounded by the love of his family and with the supportive care of hospice and the staff at Valley Terrace in White River Junction. He was born June 6, 1939, in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five children of Clarence and



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Thousands Say ‘No Kings’ at Protests Across Vermont | Seven Days

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Thousands Say ‘No Kings’ at Protests Across Vermont | Seven Days


For the second time in a matter of months, thousands of people around Vermont on Saturday took to the streets as part of a massive nationwide “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump and his administration.

Some 50 Vermont cities and towns, from Vergennes and Underhill to St. Albans and Chester, held official protests. At each, dozens or in some cases thousands of people massed in green spaces and along busy thoroughfares to sing songs, wave signs and American flags, and voice their opposition to the way Trump has lead the country during his first nine months in office.

The largest gatherings by far were in Montpelier, where thousands of protesters filled the Statehouse lawn to listen to speakers, and Burlington, where separate groups of marchers converged on downtown City Hall Park for a colorful, musical and somewhat joyous gathering of community.

Creative signs and costumes were abundant among the throngs of people.

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Ken Bognanowicz , left, and Zoë Keating in Burlington Credit: Daria Bishop

In South Burlington, dozens of people holding “No Kings” signs crowded onto a narrow sidewalk along Patchen Road at the Interstate 89 overpass. Most were over 40, with some exceptions, including a man and a woman with two toddlers. They made giant bubbles that floated over the crowd.

A woman wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume would not give her name. “My husband is an immigrant so I’d rather not,” she said. “I’m glad I can represent both of us today. We thought a green card would be enough safety for us.”

Her costume, she said, was a nod to “what’s happening in Portland. I think that humor and silliness seem to be really effective against this administration.”

Another woman who declined to give her name described herself as a member of the “inflatable rebellion.” She wanted to show up with humor — “no anger, no hate, to stand up for integrity.” A nurse, she said she turned down an overtime shift for double pay to be there.

She’s from Thailand and grew up in a country with a king — a good one, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who united the country. Not like Trump, she said. “I want this to be a wake-up call. That’s what I’m here for.”

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Scroll through the slideshow below:

The “No Kings” demonstrations were under intense scrutiny from right-wing media and Trump administration officials, who dismissively referred to the gatherings as “Hate America” rallies. But the scene at the Statehouse was filled with American flags, children playing and smiling faces.

Prior to the demonstrations, an email from “No Kings” organizers briefed protesters on etiquette for the day. Stand two feet back from the street curb and keep sidewalks clear, it read. Smile and wave at any potential hecklers or disruptors, and put down signs and step back when an ambulance or fire truck passes, the instructions said. There were no signs of anything amiss at the Montpelier rally, which went off without a hitch.

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) was the first speaker to take the stage on the Statehouse steps. “We need less Trump and more Vermont values in Washington,” Welch said to cheers. He invoked Matthew Lyon, a Vermont senator who was sent to jail in the 1790s for criticizing the president, only to be reelected by Vermonters.

A young child in a firefighter costume popped bubbles blown by protesters wearing inflatable animal suits as speakers took their turn at the podium. One demonstrator in a gray flying squirrel suit held a sign that read “Antifa” in stylish cursive, a reference to the Trump administration’s rhetoric about the antifascist group in Portland, Ore.

Introduced as a “fearless, feisty, ferocious fascist-fighting motorcycle mama from Brattleboro,” U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) began her speech with a call-and-response chant of “No Kings, No Tyrants, No Dictators!”

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“They’re trying to reframe this, and that’s because they’re scared,” Balint said. “We don’t hate America, Donald Trump. We just can’t stand what you have done to our country!”

Nikhil Goyal, a sociologist and former senior policy advisor for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), spoke to the crowd about the impact of Trump’s policies in Vermont. The crowd booed when Goyal made reference to state Sen. Sam Douglass (R-Orleans), who was outed this week by Politico for participating in a racist and sexist group chat of national Young Republicans.

After days of intense political pressure to resign, Douglass announced on Friday that he would step down effective Monday at noon.

Geri Peterson, lead organizer of 50501 Vermont, sang an original song while trans flags were passed out in the crowd. “Our existence, our basic biology, has been turned into a political talking point,” Petersen said of the Trump administration’s attacks on trans rights. “Behind every headline is another person trying to survive another day,” she said.

Protesters in inflatable suits

“It’s OK to feel overwhelmed about these things, but worrying does not have to be the end of the story,” Clara White, a 14-year-old student at Montpelier High School, said from the podium. “People my age, we’re not just sitting around waiting. We’re more connected than generations before us.”

Rae Carter of Plainfield was also at the first No Kings rally in June. She attended Saturday’s Statehouse protest adorned in bright colors, including a neon green wig. “Things have gotten worse, and the power is with the people,” she said. “Transformation and change is something that requires all of us.”

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Loretta Gaidys came from Barre to protest. “I have a lot of relatives that are in the service, and I just look at the man that is leading this country, and it scares the hell out of me,” she said.

Isaac Jensen, a construction and excavation business owner from the Northeast Kingdom, took the stage “to reject the current subversion of American patriotism and the assertion that, because we refuse to allow them to seize unlimited power, we are somehow anti-American.”

As the last speaker, he led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance.

Cathy Resmer contributed reporting.



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