Vermont was the only state that showed in increase in real median income betweeen 2010 and 2011, according to estimates released today from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The median household income in Vermont was $52,776 in 2011, up 4% from $50,707 in 2010.
Rising incomes helped to bring down both the percentage and number of people in poverty in Vermont. The Vermont poverty rate declined from 12.7% to 11.5%, as an estimated 7,000 residents were lifted above the poverty line. Vermont was the only state to experience a decline in poverty in 2011.
The new Census estimates also show that the extent of income inequality in Vermont remained stable between 2010 and 2011. Vermont is among the five states with the least income inequality in the country (with Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, and Wyoming).
Although the estimates released today provides Vermont information at the state level only and for Chittenden County, estimates for smaller counties and for the state's cities and towns will be made available by the end of 2012.
VHFA analysts will be reviewing these estimates as they become available and sharing our discoveries about trends in Vermont. In the meantime, feel free to contact Leslie Black-Plumeau, Research and Communications Coordinator, or Maura Collins, Policy and Planning Manager, with questions about what the estimates tell us about our state's demographics and housing markets.
Read the Census Bureau reports Housing Income for States: 2010 and 2011 and Poverty: 2010 and 2011. Or to access the statistics directly, check out the Census Bureau's American Fact Finder site.