Whether it’s chiming in on Front Porch Forum or casting a vote on Town Meeting Day, Vermont has a rich tradition of community engagement. But just how involved is its citizenry? 

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas unveiled the state’s new civic health index, a tool designed to evaluate how Vermonters engage with their communities and participate in democratic processes.

As the 36th state to adopt a civic health metric, Vermont joins a growing national effort to better understand the dynamics of community involvement in the state. The report sheds light on strengths and weaknesses in volunteerism, political engagement, and social interactions, such as attending public meetings and connecting with neighbors. 

The secretary of state’s office, in partnership with the National Conference of Citizenship and other educational institutions, assessed how the state performs on these indicators through surveys, advisory boards, and panel discussions with residents and organizations.

The index revealed that Vermonters are deeply engaged in their communities, excelling in areas such as volunteering and charitable contributions, with 21.4% of residents reporting they volunteer frequently and 50% reporting they’ve donated more than $25 to a religious or charitable organization.

The state also ranks second nationwide for public meeting attendance, with 17% of residents reporting they have ever attended a public meeting, which is significantly above the national average of 10%. It also ranks second for collaborating with neighbors and discussing political, social or local issues. 

While the report rated Vermont favorably across most indicators, Copeland Hanzas cautioned that performing well compared with other states doesn’t automatically indicate the state is excelling overall.

“Vermont may rank high in so many of these indicators, relative to other parts of the country, but they may still be very low in percentage of people who actually engage in whatever that activity that question was based on,” Copeland Hanzas said. The index found that 1 in 5 Vermont residents have felt uncomfortable or out of place in their community. 

“The best way to tackle that is to be very mindful about that while talking about the report and what’s in the report and making sure that we are adapting our language when we go to talk to folks who are maybe among that 22%,” she said.

According to Copeland Hanzas, one of the more concerning findings was Vermont’s low level of youth engagement in voter registration. A striking 59% of young people indicated they have no intention of registering to vote when they become eligible.

“I think it’s an indication of a gap or lack in civics education in schools,” Copeland Hanzas said. “If your parents didn’t get a good civics education, they’re not going to talk to you about how the government works and the importance of voting and that compounds itself over generations.”

Copeland Hanzas is hosting a series of community conversations to gather feedback on the findings. They are taking place through the end of February in South Burlington, St. Johnsbury, Barre and Rutland. During these events, attendees will have the opportunity to vote on a list of proposed next step recommendations to help prioritize actions. The first session took place Wednesday at Brattleboro’s Brooks Memorial Library.

“I was really pleased to see that the top vote-getter of all of the next step recommendations is more community conversations,” Copeland Hanzas said. “People are yearning for ways to connect across their community, whether that’s meeting your neighbors or just even connecting with people who you may have nothing in common with.”

Copeland Hanzas also encouraged Vermonters to reach out if they would like to have a conversation about the report but don’t see a meeting in their community.