Moving to Vermont
New residents have 60 days to get a Vermont driver license and must register a car within 60 days. Prices are 2.0% below the U.S. average, and a single filer earning $100,000 pays about $4,140 in Vermont income tax. 11,277 households moved here from other states in 2022–2023, most often from New York and Massachusetts.
New resident checklist for Vermont
Driver license
Within 60 days of moving (30 days for CDL). Eye exam required when transferring a valid out-of-state license or one expired less than 3 years; out-of-state license surrendered. Before your appointment, use the Vermont motor vehicle agency's document checklist for the license type you choose. Standard and REAL ID requirements can differ, including accepted identity and address documents, name-change records and Social Security documentation or permitted alternatives.
Vehicle title and registration
Register within 60 days of moving, or sooner if your out-of-state registration expires first. Vermont safety inspection required within 15 days of registering. Switch your auto insurance to a Vermont policy.
Taxes or fees on a car you bring: Yes: 6% Purchase & Use Tax on the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, even for a vehicle already titled to you out of state, unless exempt. You get credit for sales/use tax paid to another state (not property or excise tax); you pay the difference if Vermont's tax is higher.
Annual registration: Flat fee for pleasure cars: $91 for 1 year or $167 for 2 years (gas/diesel), including a $2 Clean Air Fund fee. PHEV $135.50/yr; BEV $178/yr.
Extra yearly fee for an electric vehicle: $89.
Establishing residency
You are a resident once you move to Vermont to live; proof of a Vermont address is required at the DMV. Residency also decides where you pay income tax in the year you move; see taxes the year you move.
Your first-month checklist in Vermont
- Register to vote at your new address.
- Update your address with the IRS (Form 8822), your employer and your bank.
- Tell payroll where you live and physically work, and review withholding for every state that may tax your pay, including Vermont. Keeping a job in another state, commuting, remote-work sourcing rules or income earned before the move can leave an old-state obligation. A new address alone does not mean all old-state withholding should stop. See moving-year tax guidance and your states' official instructions.
- Set up utilities and get renters or homeowners insurance. Owners with a mortgage here paid a median $1,091 a year for homeowners insurance in 2024 (Census ACS); premiums have risen in most states since, so get quotes.
- Keep your lease or closing papers and your license date as proof of when you became a resident.
Still planning the move itself? The moving out of state checklist covers the weeks before you go, and the moving timeline turns your move date into dated deadlines. Our guide to moving with pets covers vet records, travel and local pet rules. Shipping a car? See shipping a car to another state, or take the Where should I move? quiz.
Official site: dmv.vermont.gov. Sources: dmv.vermont.gov (2), dmv.vermont.gov (3), dmv.vermont.gov (4), dmv.vermont.gov (5). Reviewed 2026-09-25. Rules and fees change; confirm with the Vermont motor vehicle agency before you go.
Compare your move to Vermont
Pick the state you're leaving and your salary to see your take-home pay, rent and the salary that keeps your buying power the same in Vermont.
Equal salary in VT: $73,900
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $73,900 in Vermont to match $85,000 in New York ($11,100 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary, standard deduction.
The renter figure uses ACS gross rent, which includes tenant-paid electricity, gas, water/sewer and fuels. The buyer figure adds electricity separately to mortgage, property tax and insurance. Food, transport, healthcare, other spending and one-time moving costs are excluded. These are selected-cost changes, not total savings. State medians may differ from your neighborhood and current quotes.
| Tax on $85,000 | New York | Vermont |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $9,870 | $9,870 |
| Social Security + Medicare | $6,503 | $6,503 |
| State income tax | $3,993 | $3,150 |
| State payroll programs (UI, disability, paid leave, transit) | $367 | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $64,267 | $65,478 |
Full reports for the most common moves to Vermont: New York to Vermont, Massachusetts to Vermont, New Hampshire to Vermont, Florida to Vermont, Connecticut to Vermont and California to Vermont.
Living in Vermont: costs, taxes and risk
Of the 51 (the 50 states and D.C.), Vermont is in the best 10 for modeled natural hazard county-score means, homeowners insurance and car insurance, and in the worst 10 for health premiums and property tax rate.
- Median rent
- $1,319/mo U.S. $1,487
- Cost to own the median home
- $2,433/mo U.S. $2,354
- Take-home on $100,000
- $75,040 $38 less than in the median state
- Property tax (effective)
- 1.42% median $5,026/yr
- County-score mean
- 47.8 of 100 Midrange county-score mean
- Moved in from other states
- 11,277 households, IRS 2022–2023
Pros and cons of living in Vermont
How Vermont ranks among all 51 (the 50 states and D.C.) on 11 measures of costs, taxes, risk and income. Top 10 means among the 10 best for someone moving in, Bottom 10 among the 10 worst.
Where Vermont ranks best
- Top 5 Lowest modeled county-score means: Population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores: 47.8 of 100, the lowest of 51.
- Top 5 Lowest homeowners insurance: $1,091 a year at the median for homes with a mortgage (Census ACS 2024), 5th lowest of 51.
- Top 10 Lowest car insurance costs: $893 a year per car on average (NAIC 2023), 6th lowest of 51.
Where Vermont ranks worst
- Bottom 5 Highest Marketplace health premiums: $1,299 a month for a benchmark plan at age 40, before subsidies (KFF 2026), the highest of 51.
- Bottom 10 Highest property tax rate: 1.42% of home value a year, tied with 1 other state for 6th highest.
Measures: state income tax, overall prices, rent, cost to own a home, property tax rate, homeowners insurance, electric bills, car insurance, health premiums, modeled natural hazard county-score means, household income. State income tax is for a single filer earning $100,000 under 2026 rules, including the average county income tax in Indiana and Maryland. Ties share a rank.
Where new Vermont residents come from
In the latest IRS migration data (2022–2023), 11,277 households filed their taxes in Vermont after filing in another state the year before. New York sent the most, 1,566 households (14% of the total). Vermont lost a net 299 households to other states that year.
Five-year trend
Moves to Vermont from other states peaked in 2020–21 at 12,189 households, then fell 7% to 11,277 in 2022–23, up 18% from 2018–19. Vermont gained households from other states on net in three of the five years.
IRS SOI state-to-state migration files, tax years 2018–19 to 2022–23. Net gain or loss by year: 2018–19 −833, 2019–20 +1,454, 2020–21 +1,490, 2021–22 +367, 2022–23 −299.
Cost of living in Vermont vs the U.S.
Overall prices in Vermont are 2.0% below the U.S. average, 29th cheapest of 51. The widest gap is in utilities (125.8), 26% above the U.S. level.
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024.
- Average electric bill
- $135/mo U.S. $151
- Car insurance, per car
- $893/yr U.S. $1,282
- Health plan, age 40
- $1,299/mo U.S. $625
EIA 2025 average residential bills, NAIC 2023 average auto insurance expenditure, KFF 2026 benchmark silver Marketplace premium before subsidies.
Taxes in Vermont: take-home pay at three incomes
Vermont taxes wages. Here is what a single filer keeps after 2026 federal and state taxes, compared with the middle of all 51.
| Salary | VT income tax | Take-home | vs. median state |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,241 | $41,114 | +$336 |
| $100,000 | $4,140 | $75,040 | -$38 |
| $150,000 | $7,613 | $106,178 | -$1,409 |
Single filer, 2026 tax rules, standard deduction. Take-home is after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Vermont income taxes. "vs. median state" is the difference from the median take-home of all 51 at the same salary. For married filing jointly, change the filing status in the calculator above.
The statewide sales tax rate is 6% before any local sales taxes. Homeowners pay a median $5,026 a year in property tax, 1.42% of the median home value (property tax by county). Retiring? See how Vermont taxes Social Security and pensions. Moving mid-year? Read about taxes the year you move.
Cities in Vermont: where a paycheck goes furthest
The Burlington metro area is the only one of the 149 U.S. metro areas we cover that is centered in Vermont. About $79,800 there buys what $75,000 buys in an average-priced area with no state income tax.
| Metro area | Salary to match $75k | Price level | Median rent | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | $79,800 | 100.9 | $1,631 | $438,100 |
Salary to match $75k: the pay that leaves the same after-tax, price-adjusted income as $75,000 in an area at U.S. average prices with no state income tax, single filer, including the principal city's own income tax where it has one. BEA 2024 price levels (U.S. = 100) and Census ACS 2024 rent and home values for each metro area.
Housing and home insurance in Vermont
| Measure | Vermont | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Median rent (monthly) | $1,319 | $1,487 |
| Median home value | $352,800 | $360,600 |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $2,433 | $2,354 |
| Income needed to buy the median home | $104,280 | $100,903 |
| Median property tax (yearly) | $5,026 | $3,211 |
| Homeowners insurance (yearly median, homes with a mortgage) | $1,091 | $1,450 |
Census ACS 2024 rent, home value and property tax, and ACS 2024 homeowners insurance. Cost to own: principal and interest at the Freddie Mac 30-year average (7.24%) with 20% down, plus the median property tax and the median homeowners insurance paid by owners with a mortgage. Premiums have risen since 2024, especially in high-risk areas, so get quotes. See buying a home in Vermont for other down payments.
Natural disaster risk in Vermont
RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores for Vermont is 47.8 of 100 (midrange county-score mean), ranked 1 of 51 from lowest to highest mean. This is not an official FEMA state rating or a national state percentile, and it does not predict whether a particular home is safe. Modeled expected losses from natural hazards average about $344 per resident a year, and no residents live in counties FEMA rates relatively high or very high.
The vertical line marks county-score scale midpoint (50).
See disaster risk for every Vermont county and how to check a home's risk before you move.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people moving to Vermont come from?
In IRS migration data for 2022–2023, 11,277 households moved to Vermont from other states. The most came from New York (1,566 households), Massachusetts (1,540) and New Hampshire (1,243).
What are the pros and cons of living in Vermont?
Where Vermont ranks best among the 50 states and D.C.: lowest modeled county-score means, the lowest of 51; lowest homeowners insurance, 5th lowest of 51; lowest car insurance costs, 6th lowest of 51. Where it ranks worst: highest Marketplace health premiums, the highest of 51; highest property tax rate, tied with 1 other state for 6th highest.
Is Vermont expensive to live in?
Overall prices in Vermont are 2.0% below the U.S. average (BEA price level 98.0, 2024), 29th cheapest of 51. Median rent is $1,319 a month and the median home is worth $352,800.
How long do I have to get a Vermont driver license after moving?
60 days after becoming a resident. Within 60 days of moving (30 days for CDL). Eye exam required when transferring a valid out-of-state license or one expired less than 3 years; out-of-state license surrendered.
How long do I have to register my car in Vermont?
60 days. Register within 60 days of moving, or sooner if your out-of-state registration expires first. Vermont safety inspection required within 15 days of registering.
Do new residents pay tax on a car brought to Vermont?
Yes: 6% Purchase & Use Tax on the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, even for a vehicle already titled to you out of state, unless exempt. You get credit for sales/use tax paid to another state (not property or excise tax); you pay the difference if Vermont's tax is higher.
What makes me a Vermont resident?
You are a resident once you move to Vermont to live; proof of a Vermont address is required at the DMV.