Education reform:
What changes under Act 73?
See the updates
See the updates
« All Publications
Despite growth, Vermont’s lowest wages aren’t livable
Jobs Brief
|Jobs, Workers, Wages, Income inequality, Income
Over the past two decades, real wages for the lowest earners in Vermont grew more slowly than in any other New England state or in the U.S. as a whole. In 2025, 10 percent of Vermonters earned $15 per hour or less. That was higher than the U.S. wage for the same group but represented a smaller increase: 25 percent in 20 years in Vermont, compared with 32 percent growth for the U.S. The state’s minimum hourly wage was just over $14 in 2025, but the livable wage was closer to $20.
Meanwhile, wages for the highest earners grew faster than in all New England states except Maine, although more slowly than in the U.S. Together, these trends widened the gap between the lowest and highest wage earners in Vermont.
This month
Vermont’s labor force declined in January, marking the largest monthly drop since the Covid pandemic. That month there were over 1,300 fewer workers than at the end of 2025. The labor force includes all people ages 16 and older who are either employed or not working but looking for work.
