Vermont Housing Market: Home Prices, Rent and Affordability
The typical Vermont home is worth $399,053, up 1.0% over the past year and up 18.1% over five years, 8.2% above the national $368,697 (latest release). That ranks #21 of 50 on price. A 20%-down mortgage runs $2,053 a month and takes about $114,846 of income; the median Vermont household earns $82,730, $32,116 short.
In Burlington, the state's largest metro, typical rent is $2,315 a month against a $2,421 principal-and-interest payment on the typical home, so renting is $106 a month cheaper before taxes, insurance and maintenance. The market is warm: 23.0% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 47 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 10.7% from a year ago.
All housing figures are the latest published numbers for August; median household income is from the Census Bureau.
Vermont Housing by the Numbers
How much does a house cost in Vermont? The typical home is worth $399,053, the median sale price is $400,000 and the median list price $490,274. The six figures below describe the market this month, each with the national comparison.
- Typical home
- $399,053
- #21 priciest · national $369K
- Mortgage payment
- $2,053/mo
- P&I, 20% down · national $1,897
- Income needed
- $115K
- median earns $83K (+39%)
- Rent, Burlington
- $2,315/mo
- +1.1% in 1 yr · national $1,948
- Price cuts
- 23.0%
- of listings · national 26.4%
- Days to pending
- 47
- national 53 · 3,293 for sale (+10.7%)
How Have Vermont Home Prices Changed?
The typical Vermont home value every month since 2000, with the national typical home as a dashed line. Values rose 1.0% over the past year, are up 18.1% over five years, up 66.7% over ten, and up 239% since January 2000.
- Peak
- $404,402
- June 2024 · now -1.3%
- 10-year change
- +66.7%
- national +77.9%
- Median sale price
- $400,000
- list price $490,274
- Payment, 1-yr change
- +1.9%
- Rates and prices combined
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in Vermont?
Two direct answers from the data. Rent versus buy sets typical asking rent in Burlington, the state's largest metro, against the mortgage payment on the typical home there, since rent indexes are published by metro rather than by state. The affordability gap is the income needed to buy the typical Vermont home minus what the median household actually earns.
Rent vs. buy · Burlington, VT
Renting is $106/month cheaper
The payment excludes property tax (1.78% of value in Vermont), insurance and maintenance, all of which push the cost of owning higher; renting builds no equity. If values kept rising at the past five years' pace (18.1%), equity would narrow that gap over a long stay.
Affordability gap · #38 of 50
The median household is $32,116 short of the income needed
A $2,053 monthly payment takes 29.8% of the median Vermont household's income before property tax and insurance; lenders generally cap total housing costs near 28–31%.
Full budget for your household →Is Vermont a Buyer's or a Seller's Market?
Market temperature is our label from three market signals compared with the national market: the share of listings with a price cut, days from listing to pending (days on market), and whether homes for sale are up from a year ago. Vermont is warm: it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market.
Median sale price $400,000 against a median list price of $490,274, so the typical home closes 18.4% below asking.
Where the Vermont market is heading
Compared with a year ago, all three signals point looser, in buyers' favor: the share of listings with a price cut is up 1.9 points from a year ago to 23.0%, homes take 7 days longer to go pending than a year ago (47 now), and the number of homes for sale is up 10.7%. The typical home value rose 1.0% over the same period and is 1.3% below its June 2024 peak of $404,402. We publish no forecasts: these are the current-month readings, not a prediction of where Vermont home prices go next.
Home Values and Rents in Vermont Cities
A city-level home value or rent is available for 15 of the Vermont cities we track. The most expensive is Shelburne ($680,982) and the cheapest Bellows Falls ($236,340). Click a city for its full profile.
| City | Population | Home value | 1 yr | 5 yr | Rent | Rent 1 yr | Value ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 44,675 | $509,341 | -1.8% | ||||
| South Burlington | 20,756 | $483,135 | -0.8% | ||||
| Rutland | 15,712 | $282,406 | +4.2% | ||||
| Bennington | 9,245 | $255,470 | -1.2% | ||||
| Barre | 8,412 | $309,445 | +0.6% | ||||
| Winooski | 8,293 | $433,964 | -1.2% | ||||
| Montpelier | 8,014 | $423,230 | +0.8% | ||||
| Brattleboro | 7,657 | $321,175 | -3.3% | ||||
| Middlebury | 7,220 | $450,323 | +1.2% | ||||
| Shelburne | 6,499 | $680,982 | -0.2% | ||||
| Newport | 4,394 | $270,887 | +5.6% | ||||
| Springfield | 4,237 | $248,661 | +2.8% | ||||
| Northfield | 3,766 | $324,071 | +0.5% | ||||
| Milton | 3,555 | $460,777 | -0.1% | ||||
| Bellows Falls | 2,891 | $236,340 | -1.2% |
Home value and rent are city-level indexes; population and median household income are Census ACS. Cities without a published index are omitted.
All Vermont cities ranked →How Vermont Compares With Nearby States
The Northeast states closest to Vermont on price. Each card links to that state's housing page; the compare link puts the two states side by side on every category.
More on Vermont
Vermont dashboard
Overall rank and grade, every category score, taxes, utilities, safety, schools and all tracked cities.
What you'd keep in Vermont
Take-home after housing, taxes, childcare, utilities and groceries for your household and income.
Who is moving to Vermont
IRS migration data: where new residents come from, where leavers go, and what both groups earn.
Vermont Housing Market FAQ
What is the average house price in Vermont?
$399,053 is the typical Vermont home value according to the latest release of the home value index, which tracks homes in the middle third of the market. The median sale price was $400,000 and the median list price $490,274. That makes Vermont the #21 most expensive state; the national typical home is worth $368,697.
Are home prices dropping in Vermont?
No. The typical Vermont home value rose 1.0% over the past year, though it remains 1.3% below its June 2024 peak of $404,402. Over five years it is up 18.1% and over ten years up 66.7%. Nationally, values rose 1.2% over the year.
How have Vermont home prices changed over the past 1, 5 and 10 years?
+1.0% over one year, +18.1% over five years and +66.7% over ten years for the typical Vermont home value, per the latest release; the national figures are +1.2%, +20.3% and +77.9%. Since January 2000 the typical Vermont home is up 239%. The monthly chart above shows the full series against the national line.
Will the Vermont housing market crash?
We publish no forecasts, so this page cannot answer that; it can show the current readings and the historical worst case. Right now the typical Vermont home value is 1.3% below its June 2024 peak of $404,402 after it rose 1.0% over the past year; 23.0% of listings have cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 47 days (national 53), and inventory is up 10.7% from a year ago, per Zillow Research. The largest decline in the monthly value series for Vermont was 4.8% from March 2008 to February 2010, and values took 40 months to regain that peak.
Is it a good time to buy a house in Vermont?
The Vermont market is warm right now, which means it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market. 23.0% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 47 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 10.7% from a year ago. Affordability is the constraint: buying the typical home takes $114,846 of income, $32,116 more than the median household earns. Whether the timing is right also depends on mortgage rates and how long you plan to stay.
Is Vermont a buyer's or seller's market?
Vermont leans toward sellers. Fewer listings are cutting prices than the national average (23.0% vs. 26.4%), homes take 47 days to go pending (national 53), and the number of homes for sale is up 10.7% from a year ago at 3K listings. One of those three signals points toward buyers.
What is the average rent in Vermont?
In Burlington, Vermont's largest metro, the typical asking rent is $2,315 a month, up 1.1% over the past year and up 24.1% over five years, per the rent index. The national typical rent is $1,948. Among Vermont cities we track, rents range from $1,275 to $2,585 a month.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Vermont?
Renting is cheaper month to month in Burlington, Vermont's largest metro. Typical rent is $2,315 and the principal-and-interest payment on the typical home with 20% down is $2,421, a difference of $106 a month in favor of renting. The payment excludes property tax (1.78% of value in Vermont), insurance and maintenance, and renting builds no equity, so the full answer depends on how long you stay.
How much income do you need to buy a house in Vermont?
About $114,846 a year, using the standard assumptions of 20% down at current mortgage rates and a payment of no more than 30% of income. The median Vermont household earns $82,730, so the typical household is $32,116 short. That is the #38 smallest affordability gap of the 50 states. The monthly payment of $2,053 equals 29.8% of the median household's income.
Where are homes cheapest and most expensive in Vermont?
Among the Vermont cities we track with a published home value, the most expensive typical home is in Shelburne ($680,982) and the cheapest in Bellows Falls ($236,340). Also at the top: Burlington ($509,341), South Burlington ($483,135), and Milton ($460,777). The city table above lists every tracked Vermont city with its value, one-year change and rent.
How does Vermont compare with nearby states?
In the Northeast, the closest comparisons on price are Delaware ($406,074, up 1.3% in a year), Maine ($415,552, up 1.6% in a year), and Maryland ($428,308, flat in a year). Vermont's typical home is $399,053, up 1.0%. On affordability, Vermont ranks #38 of 50 versus Delaware at #19, Maine at #34, and Maryland at #22.
How current is the Vermont housing data?
Every figure on this page comes from Zillow Research, which publishes state, metro and city data free each month for the prior month; the latest month shown is August. Median household income is from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. We rebuild the page from the newest Zillow files as they are released.
Home values, rents, mortgage payments, income needed, inventory, price cuts, days to pending and sale and list prices are published by Zillow Research and shown as released, with attribution. Median household income and city populations are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Home prices and housing markets in all 50 states →