Vermont

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

Published

1 year ago

March 4, 2025

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.

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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Vermont

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

Published

2 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (Aging Untold) — For 10 days, the Champlain Valley Fair, a county fair in Vermont, becomes its own little town with thousands of people, hot afternoons and the occasional emergency.

Charlene Phelps, 74, runs the fair’s emergency response team.

“We have a lot of seniors that come and people don’t drink enough water,” Phelps said.

The team handles sprains, bee stings, heat exhaustion and whatever comes through.

“I like taking care of people, I like helping people,” Phelps said.

Living out a childhood dream

It’s also a childhood dream.

Phelps wanted to be a nurse, but college wasn’t possible, so she found another route into care and has been showing up year after year at the fair.

Aging Untold expert Amy O’Rourke said living out your purpose can improve mental and spiritual well-being.

“When you tap into that, you’re tapping in on a place that’s a risk, that’s a challenge that inevitably creates growth inside you, gives you confidence so that if you’re in another situation you can build on that,” O’Rourke said. “Or, if you’re in an everyday situation where you’re a little anxious, it’ll help create stabilization in that place as well.”

Saving lives at the fair

Sometimes it’s bigger than a bandage.

“Over on there near the swings way over there is Gustovo, and we saved his life,” Phelps said.

Gustovo had gone into cardiac arrest at the fair a few years ago.

“I mean he was gone,” Phelps said.

Now he’s back and working the rides.

“Came for my hug, Gustovo,” Phelps said.

O’Rourke said stories like this are also why some people keep working past retirement age. Purpose isn’t a number, it’s a role.

“I’ve seen a 92-year-old still working as a nurse’s aid. I’ve seen people in my neighborhood chilling out and loving it,” O’Rourke said. “So, I think it’s being really self-aware of what you need and making sure that you’re getting those needs met.”

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Vermont

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

Published

14 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

A plan by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to make all of the state’s lottery games, including scratch-off tickets, available on a person’s phone never got off the ground at the Statehouse this year.

Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight told lawmakers in January that the plan was a way to modernize the lottery “because you need to keep pace with technology — you need to meet your players where they are.”

Fifteen states have created a “digital” lottery system, and many have discovered there’s a distinct market of people who don’t buy lottery tickets at retail outlets but will do so on their phones, according to Knight. “We’re trying to ensure the future of the Vermont Lottery, ” the commissioner said.

But state lawmakers have not been persuaded.

Vergennes Rep. Matt Birong, the Democratic chair of the House government operations committee, said members of the panel felt this year was not the time to move forward with this plan, especially given the recent legalization of sports betting.

“It is digitizing a current system and after moving forward with the sports wagering — people just wanted to take their time with it — so my committee decided to tap the brakes on further testimony.”

The administration estimated that the plan would have raised roughly $5 million a year for the state’s education fund after two years of implementation.

The prospect of that additional revenue is appealing to lawmakers, and Birong said they may reconsider the plan next year.

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