Why So Few Americans Live In Vermont 

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For me, the relatively low population density is a major attraction, and not a negative.

You are missing 2 key parts of the story of the populating of VT, my home state. We were on par or more advanced then most in the early part of the industrial revolution but then in the 1830's came the "famine years" with killing frost and snow in every month of the year. An exodus began and many farmers and inventers, like john deere, moved to the midwest for dire need to survive. One generation later Vermont sent thousands of their best and brightest, never to return, to fight a war to end slavery that we here had abolished peacefully decades before. VT lost more soldiers per cappita then any other state involved in the conflict known as the civil war. Through these times and on through WW 1 we out produced all New england combined in copper used both for war and domestic efforts, and out produced in marble slate and granite, literaly the building blocks of our nations capitol and, perhaps in bitter irony,the headstones of Arlington cemetary were so many vermonters lay . The floods of 1927 and 1932, back to back "100 year" flood events left VT in a condition close to as desperate as the earliest settler days. A look at census data shows that the populations of most Vermont towns {90%} have been declining since the early 1800's. Only in the 21st century are the numbers starting to grow as we exist within an above average cost of living and a below average mean income. We enjoy, for now, significantly warmer winters that threaten our maple syrup and ski industries, and we tolerate more severe weather and flood events that threaten our agricultural and infrastuctural sustainability. Also at this time the uptick in certain population and average income is added by and large by people who exist independently from the VT economy and it is hard to say if this trend is really part of the next chapter of history or just a blip on the radar. Thanks for considering these facts as part of your understanding of our little state.

From the comments I totally see why Vermont is not highly populated and is backward. The people dont want everything "chain". They want down-home. They want tiny community, and mom 'n pop places. To be original, unique, small and not commercial, crowded, and criminalized. That's a breath of fresh air!

As a Vermonter, I can tell you why so few people live in the state. The simple asnwer is that we maintain a healthy distance between people. It costs a little more, but it works. A lovely place, with 10,000 trees for each of us.

I was born and raised in VT, lived in Maine for a few years, traveled the country for a year, and moved back to VT to get back to elderly family and start one of my own. The low population and relatively undeveloped landscape are big factors in why I came back, and the people of VT, on the whole, treat the landscape with a bit more respect than maybe the average American would. Don't expect many creature comforts; you won't find any huge shopping malls, department stores, or fast food places, and you need to be able to weather some very harsh climate (not just nasty cold in the winters, but flooding and/or humidity in summer as well). For these reasons, among others, Vermont has a vivid and colorful personality that you won't find in other states. Everywhere else I've been across the US feels more crowded, dirty, and "used". The wealth demographics are also pretty unique: a very large proportion of our citizens are upper-middle-class, which is why our state is usually known as "weirdly rich", which I would actually correct to "weirdly wealthy". There are very few rich people and there are a good number of low-income families as well. Unfortunately, since the pandemic, many people from urban areas have moved to VT or bought homes here and it is causing a huge slew of issues, primarily in the housing and real-estate markets, all while slowly degrading that "charm" we all love. I also believe development is not encouraged the same way you would see in our neighboring states, mostly to preserve the land and wildlife. New Hampshire and Maine to a pretty good job of this as well. We are a quirky little state for sure: there are some super progressive (bordering on communist) politics, but we also have a huge amount of freedom with our firearms and the Governor is Republican. You find a ton of hippies and you find a ton of rednecks. It is a great place to hide a doomsday shelter or an equally great place to start a homestead. I absolutely love it here! Advice for the city-slickers that move here or visit during the winter: snow tires are not a suggestion, they are a REQUIREMENT. Stop crashing into shit...

You should do a video on why Vermont is so rich but yet West Virginia is so poor when both have the same mountainous terrain and geographic challenges

Fun fact: Vermont got its name from the green mountains that it has, and that name literally translates to "Green Mountain" in French (Vert = Green ; Mont = Mountain).

I am more than happy to keep the state small. part of its beauty

I grew up in Vermont in a town just north of Burlington. On the one hand, you grow up very much in tune with nature and the seasons and the entire state has a small town feel where people are friendly and are happy to visit, borrow, and barter with their neighbors. We made apple cider and maple syrup from our trees and traded for pork and beef from neighbors with hobby farms. On the other hand, it really can feel very remote to those who visit from the major population centers who expect the same creature comforts. Do NOT expect to find a Starbucks anywhere outside of Burlington. There is only ONE Target store in the whole state, which only opened about five years ago. Most fast food chains are not in Vermont. A lot of trends in culture and technology are slow to be adopted (good luck finding an Uber or Lyft anywhere outside of Burlington!). So for those who want a break from modern society, Vermont is a paradise!

I am a Vermonter who lives in the Lebanon region as you called it. We call it the Upper Valley. You missed Act 250 as a major reason that Vermont is still not very populated. It is a state law passed in 1970 to preserve Vermont’s character and community by restricting development in the state. Permits can be denied for anything over 10 acres in a rural area and over 1 acre in a town that has no zoning rules.

Born in VT, lived here almost 67 years and love it here. Have worked both here in VT and nearby in MA for the past 50+ years, and if you have any abilities to do anything constructive, or are trained in almost any kind of trade, there's lots of work and business to be had. It's a great place to live, and not far (where we live) from some larger cities in NY and MA. I like it just the way it is.

What you didn’t mention was Vermont’s quarries, which provided the marble for many of Washington DC’s monuments. Skilled Italian craftsmen fashioned the stone, while the Irish built the railways to haul it to its destination. Consequently we have Celtic music and great Italian food.😉

I live in NY, about 35 minutes from the VT border. I can tell you that it is a different place the moment you cross that border.

Fun fact: There are more ski resorts than McDonald’s locations in Vermont!

A little bit misleading. If you included everything from the Adirondacks to the White Mountains, it's all pretty much empty. Vermont just happens to sit in the middle of that area. In fact Burlington is basically the metro center of that whole region.

Fun Fact: The Ethan Allen "Express": is an Amtrak line that goes from NYC, now to Burlington, VT.

I’m 35, born and raised in north west VT. This state is beautiful, but the cost of living and taxes force many out. VT legislature is more concerned about collecting tax revenue than sustaining the population.

I thought Vermont was a figment of Bob's imagination. Dick Louden, the Stratford Inn, and Vermont are all just part of a dream.

Empty is good. Who needs a big population?!

I met a young woman in Los Angeles who was from Vermont. She told me that Vermont is a beautiful, wonderful place to grow up all the way to the end of college. But after that and you're now an adult responsible for yourself. It's time to leave Vermont for the big urban cities to find a job career which is very difficult to do in Vermont.

Forgot to mention that Vermont has some of the highest personal income taxes in the country for a small state. It is not a business friendly state and not many people want to retire in Vermont.

Because Vermont missed out on the Industrial Revolution and has rocky terrain not ideal for large-scale agriculture, the economy really had to focus on small-scale farming and manufacturing out of necessity. Several decades later, craft industries became the trendy alternative to large-scale industrial products that used too many chemicals, cut corners on quality, and took advantage of workers. So Vermont was primed for companies that focused on quality craft goods like Ben and Jerry's, Cabot Creamery, Darn Tough Socks, Green Mountain Coffee, Seventh Generation, etc. to take off and "Made in Vermont" became a tagline that symbolized socially responsible business and high-quality products.

Thanks for the background....I often wondered why Vermont is so lightly populated. Let's keep it that way! Send everybody to the sunbelt! Love how beautiful Vermont is!!!

I've spent months of my time driving up from Maryland to Vermont to snowboard. I love it there. old school feel and quiet and peaceful. Every time I Pass the Bennington monument headed towards Dover up the mountain passes like Suddenly everyone is gone, and you feel a sense of emptiness as soon as you cross the border. Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush, and Jay Peak are my favs.

The images of Vermont in most Americans' minds is that of autumn and early winter picturesque scenery found on calendars.

I just visited Vermont for the first time last week. Truly beautiful. Came back with maple syrup and cheese ;-)

I’m from Maine but I have family in Vermont. Once a year (with the obvious exception of the Covid years), we would visit that family. Vermont is a really nice state.

I was just in Vermont. Went to pick up a small diesel engine and stop and see my nephew and his family. Two of my sisters lived in Vermont for more than 20 years. You have vastly underestimated the geography as it influences the state. First, you cain't get there from here. Literally. From Bennington to Brattleboro 30 something miles, minimum one hour,, on a good day. Some winter snowfall? Tomorrow or the next day. The state is actually 2 separate north/south mountain ridges. Connecticut River to the east,, the valley is only a mile or so wide, then it is vertical again. Route 100 up the center of the state. The only farmland is courtesy of beavers making flat land since the Ice Age,, a couple miles wide. To the west again,,, a couple miles wide,, or a bit more the Lake Champlain valley. To get from the engine to the nephews house,, straight line distance of 110 miles,, took 4 hours,, on the interstate.. Remember the "You cain't get there from here."? And as I said,, spice the trip with a bit of weather,, your entire ski weekend can be,, and sometimes is, just the drive to and from,, you never get to put on your skis. AND you skipped a season. Vermont has 5 seasons. Remember the shallow bit of topsoil, glacial till? In 'Spring' ? there is an extra season called Mud Season. Unpaved roads some years, become entirely unusable. Bulldozers sunk to their seat Milk trucks waiting sunk in the road until they can be dug out some days later. You wear rubber over boots to walk across the road for the morning milk and eggs chores. 647,000 residents is just a new high. Did not used to be even that many.

I went to school in Vermont and spent a few summers there. Winters are brutal but the summers are amazing!

I spent many summers attending and later working for a camp in Vermont. The terrain doesn't really lend itself to large cities, and frankly I'm just as happy they haven't tried to shoehorn anything in there. Also notable is that Vermont heavily limits commercial signs, often opposes big box stores with zoning rules, and generally zealously guards its rural and "quaint" character. Something worth mentioning in Vermont's more modern history is the "back to the land" movement of the 1970's, which led to a large influx of city-born hippies, and some conflicts between them and the "real Vermonters" from previous generations of mostly farming families. Some things to come out of that are Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and the prominent senator Bernie Sanders.

Native Vermonter here. There's actually been quite of bit of ingenuity and innovation from VT. Too many to list here, but we have a sort of "make it happen" fortitude.

Green mountain state isnt just a nickname, its litteraly its name, vert meant green and mont means mountain in french

Fun fact: Not only are we the #1 producer of maple syrup in the country, we are #1 when it comes to taste and flavor. All other states and countries that produce maple syrup don't even come close to ours (sorry NH, NY, ME and Canada😢). Fun fact: In VT, maple syrup has its own food group😋😋 #ilovemaplesyrup

Because there’s little economic reason. Just like every other of these videos. It’s all economics. No major harbors, no navigable rivers, heavily mountainous terrain makes development difficult. It’s the West Virginia of New England. People only move there to retire or to get away from Boston or NY. It has a really high cost of living despite its population and most of its population lives on the border with NY, specifically along the lake.

Why So Few Americans Live In Vermont. It's getting too expensive to live here. And we're being taxed to death!!

When you highlighted the Winooski River, you actually highlighted the Lamoille River. The Winooski is further south and runs parallel to i89 for much of its length.

11:21 fun fact: locals call it “Leb-a-nin” unlike the country, Lebanon

I spent this past winter season in Burlington, VT to try to see if I'd actually want to relocate there as a resident. It was a nice quirky little town and Vermont as a state is gorgeous no doubt. The reality of sparse housing with an expensive cost was settling in and its no joke. They've had a housing issue for some years now and especially in Burlington which is a college town mostly. Decided not to seek permanent residency there due to these reasons. It's nice to be so close to Montreal though as I went a few times. Definitely love the community and hippie vibe VT offers though.

My dad lived in Vermont for 20 years starting in the early 90s he lived in a town called Barton this particular town was about 15 miles from the Canadian border closest major town was a guess Newport I absolutely loved going up there to visit the state is so clean and beautiful with nice people

I drove around Vermont, but it was all mountains. There were chickens roaming around the gas stations. The roads are long and winding with little in between.

My wife and I have visited Burlington several times. We love the people and the whole vibe. The violent crime and murder rates are quite low, and the people are well educated.

The name Vermont is a combination of two French words vert and mont meaning green mountain.

Act 250 is a law that keeps the state beautiful, but makes it very difficult to build anything. Any new commercial structure must go through extensive review and approval to ensure it does not interfere with the state's natural beauty. But it's part of why starting a business or building a residential development takes a long time, which stalls growth and inflates housing prices. The other reason is local opposition to new development. So many homes are old farm houses, and local residents make a big deal over any type of new construction, complaining that a four-story building will cast a shadow over their town or a row of townhomes will destroy the local character. So nothing gets built and homeowners must pay higher taxes per person to keep up with maintaining aging buildings and infrastructure.

I’ve noticed that nobody can make a video about the New England region without using the word “nestled.”

Moved there from the southwest US in the mid 2000s for a job and lived there for 10 years. Still live nearby in NH/MA. Love VT. People in VT were very friendly and welcoming of this flatlander. 😆

It’s butt-cold up there, for what, 7 months of the year? Lots of folks want to live in a warmer climate.

Vermont sounds like heaven.

Vermont has fewer people than Alaska

Funny enough, I used to live in Vermont. It’s a lovely place, and it’s very rural. The big population center is Burlington, which isn’t a particularly big city, and most of the state lives in small towns and hamlets.

Fun show, thanks! As a Vermonter myself, I completely agree with the comments of other Vermonters here. Something I would add regarding what makes the state unique is its lack of billboards. This is one of those things for which I'm forever grateful when travelling to other states. I've travelled the world and lived in quite a few countries, but Vermont is the only place I've ever lived where I feel I'm on perpetual holiday. And no matter where else I go now, I just can't wait to come back here. Also, longtime Vermonters are of a certain type: independent, hardy, resourceful, yet community-minded. Cheers!

Vermont in many many ways seems like a lost Canadian province akin to New Brunswick in both population and ethno-religious make up... Not to mention politically. Vermont seems like the only place really fully aligned with the Canadian vision of the world... I.e. progressive, high taxes on the wealthy, eco-conscious... But also the fact it's entirely dependent on Hydro-Quebec to keep the lights on once it switched off its own nuclear power plant, which even as a Canadian, seems nutty!

Champlain Canal made the Queen City, Burlington, VT an industrial center. The video says that shipping was only north, this isn’t accurate when you factor the canal shipping in.

I’m currently remodeling a 50 room hotel on Bromley Mountain in Manchester,Vermont

Never been to Vermont but it seems like a beautiful quaint little corner of America to visit.

Vermont is associated with Boston, not New York.

Vermont is a highly taxed state. The budget of the state government is roughly the same as that of New Hampshire, but with half of the people, making the burden nearly twice as high as its neighbor.

I moved to VT a little over a year ago and the one thing that gets me every time I leave the house is how little trash there is on the sides of the roads. I’m from PA and I’m used to seeing trash being scattered everywhere along streets and highways. It might seem insignificant, but it’s a nice feature and does wonders for your mental health.

I've heard about half of Vermont's population moved there in the last 50 years

What a ridiculous question. I’ve skied in Vermont a few times. It is beautiful with a lot of natural resources , but just like Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, it is COLD. I met someone from Minnesota with a tee shirt saying Minnesota 40 below keeps the rift raft out.

Taxation is terrible and the state tries to survive on services and not longer offers many export products. Born and raised there. Cant afford to retire there.

Mistake on the climate facts. There are two seasons in Vermont- Winter and tough sledding.

Hi from Burlington Vermont!!!

The story of the merino sheep in Vermont is really interesting. People started raising sheep, so a lot of the small farms were consolidated into larger farms. When people out west (with a whole lot more land) were able to sell their wool at lower prices, the economy collapsed and a lot of people moved from Vermont to the midwest or into Boston to work in the factories.

Your historical explanation of the impact of geography on Vermont's early development is incomplete. You assert that trade was difficult to the south because the principal waterways flowed north toward Montreal rather than south to NYC. That is not correct because you ignore the impact of the very early canal development in the area and the fact that the Richelieu River was not navigable for agricultural cargo. Although the Richelieu River runs from Lake Champlain into the Saint Lawrence, it was not navigable by barges. Southward barge travel all the way from Burlington to NYC began when the Hudson/Champlain Canal linked lake Champlain's southern end to the navigable stretch of the Hudson River in 1823--about the same time as the Erie Canal opened access to the midwest. The Camby canal, which links the northern end of the lake to the Saint Lawrence (and bypasses the rapids on the Richelieu River) was not completed until 1843 -- twenty years later. Thus, as of the 1820s, Vermonters' access to markets in New York (at least those on the western side of the Green Mountains) was easier than anywhere else in the interior New England. The biggest impact on Vermont's economy and population growth in the first half of the 19th century was a byproduct of the Napoleonic wars which had an unexpected and long-lasting impact on Vermont's economy and population. You don't mention that anywhere and I wonder if you are aware of it.

Montrealer here. Love our neighbours in Vermont and upstate New York. Sometimes wish we could discuss trading southern Alberta and the city of Toronto to the US in exchange for Vermont and northern Washington state. Until then, love to visit.

Vermont is an underrated state. I visited Stowe a while back and it was a cool place

That Thumbnail indicated that Vermont has the same population size close to Wyoming. Also the crazy part is that the entire populations of both Vermont and Wyoming can fit inside San Jose, California.

I grew up in New York and now live in Maine, yet I have never been to Vermont. It's not on the way to anything. I-95 misses it, and I-87 doesn't have a good way to get there without taking a ferry across Lake Champlain. You really have to want to go there.

Vermont is New Hampshire without adequate roads. That is the only difference and when it gets FRIGID, you might prefer a straighter, wider road.

Shhhh..... Don't tell everyone. I'm planning on moving up there soon

The only reason that Vermont isn’t a national park is the Champlain Canal. It was finished in 1823, linking the lake with the Hudson River. With the ability to ship goods cheaply in and out of the Champlain Valley there was a population boom. By the 1870s Burlington was one of the biggest lumber ports in the world, transferring lumber that came down the Richelieu River from Canada. Still, anywhere farther than a days wagon ride from the lake was the backwoods. The population of Vermont was static in the mid 300,000 range from about 1850 to 1950. The mountains also inhibited the construction of railroads. There were lines up the Champlain Valley and the Connecticut River Valley, but nothing East/west south of the Winooski River. Access was as much a problem as land quality.

Well your history of the state is a little baked. New Hampshire until only in the last 30 years had less than 800,000 people. It's the sprawl of the Boston suburbs and the Exodus from Massachusetts that has boosted the population of New Hampshire and the direct line of 93 to the Great lake. In the 19th century however There were railroads that connected Connecticut valley and the Hudson valley. The population of Vermont New Hampshire and Maine rurally shrunk considerably as the Northwest Territories and the far west in territories opened especially post civil war. There was a constant drain to the west or down valleys to City Life. Life on a New England farm is tough, Winter is cold the soil sucks and if you can make money in the city working a factory job it's a lot easier then and now.. as I said this is a story all across Northern New England not just Vermont. If you included the region of New Hampshire above Concord and Maine 20 miles inland from the coast you would find the same situation. For that matter New York state as well

Manchester, Nashua (and Lowell, MA) were KEY manufacturing areas back then: By 1912, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire was the largest textile manufacturing company in the ENTIRE world. It had 15,000 employees and 40 mills. It produced almost 500 miles of cloth per day.

Why so few Americans live in Vermont? Because it sucks here. No one should ever move here. Everyone tell all your friends.

Vermont has some of the highest taxes in the country and very restrictive laws when it comes to doing anything on your property. It’s called act 250, unless you’re a ski area, ski areas seem to get a pass.

Nice state, being from NYC area, very popular for sking and in the summer too. Being now in New Hampshire, double the VT population a lot due to the southern part of the state being near to the Boston area. 😊

I love the fact that billboards are not allowed on Vermont’s roads

I grew up on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River Valley just south of Lebanon, NH. Another reason Vermont struggles to grow it's population is a lack of jobs. My highschool class had less than 50 people in it and almost all of us, myself included, left the State after graduating. A good portion of my class moved to New Hampshire where there is NO INCOME TAX or sales tax, compared to Vermont with a high income tax and 6% sales tax. And even if you work in New Hampshire but live in Vermont, Vermont will still collect income tax off your New Hampshire income. New Hampshire by the way has a lower minimum wage than Vermont. It just makes more economic sense to live on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River than the Vermont side.

“Let’s ask Wally with the weather, Wally?” Wally; “ITS F***ING COLD”

I am from New Hampshire. I love Vermont, but New Hampshire has all of the same and more. We have no sales nor income tax, a tiny coastline to the ocean, bigger mointains... we don't have a Lake Champlain but Winnipesaukee/Lakes Region is also gorgeous. There are a lot of great things about Vermont, but there is a reason NH has double the population. In the end, most people don't want to live in either state.

Maine is an even bigger anomaly. The size of the rest of New England together and a very expansive coastline versus Vermont's landlocked hills.

Taxes are so high here now so we are moving our family have been in Vermont for couple hundred + years and were leaving Vermont sucks now

Its name basically means Green Mountain, Ver is short for verde which means green and mont which is a variation of mount which is short for mountain.

Green mountain/vermont = vert/green - mount/ mountain. as well, Pls note your depiction of where the appalachians are is incorrect in northern nys. They don't exist there. They are the adirondacks, a totally different, and much older mountain range. the catskills, greens, whites, berkshires are all part of the Appalachians,,,not the adirondacks

As a Vermonter, I think I speak for most when I say we prefer our state unpopulated. We want to wave to our neighbors from across the field, not hear how their day went as they speak softly to their housemates next door.

The entire northeast is to expensive to live in.

One less person now, I got out a few weeks ago, living in beautiful and affordable South Dakota now

I lived there for a year in my early 20s. I waited table at night and skied during the day. I’ve lived all over this country, and even now, Vermont is my favorite state. It is heaven in winter, fall and summer. During the spring, mud season, it’s time to head south to the beach.

As someone who grew up in Southern Alberta but now lives on the west coast, I get why not that many people want to deal with cold, snowy winters. If a state doesn’t have enough industry to justify a huge population draw, the population just never really develops. The only reason places like Edmonton in Canada can have over 1 million people is the oil money. I guess Vermont reminds me a bit of the more rural parts of Ontario and Quebec.

So love Vermont; I was born there and lived many years of my life there. Moved away from VT 15 years ago. Vermont is an expensive place to live. The real estate prices for land or houses, apartment and home rental prices, property taxes, school taxes, income taxes, and the tax on Social Security are so high. As for jobs, in the late 1980’s a change began to be seen with the manufacturing plants once located there. Decades ago, small towns used to have small manufacturing plants, such as Milton Bradley in Milton, Chemical Fabrics in North Bennington, etc. With the state’s increase of taxes on manufacturing plants and the cost of electricity, businesses could no longer afford to exist in Vermont. The majority of the manufacturing plants either closed, moved to southern states, or out of the country. Vermont still has the tourists, but it is not what it used to be. From the borders with MA and NY, up through to downtown Manchester, so many of the once busy tourist attractions and stores are now closed. There also used to be numerous small hydroelectric plants scattered all over Vermont. Am not sure that I know of any that still exist, which once was an inexpensive and renewable source for electricity. There was a partial change to a nuclear power plant decades ago, but I think that nuclear plant closed awhile ago. The cost of electricity for everyone in VT is so expensive. This tidbit may be decades old now, but the about 1/2 of the inhabitants of Vermont were not born in Vermont. Influx of people who could afford to live there. VT will always be in my heart, and remains a beautiful and lovely place to visit.

Vermont + Maine + W. Virginia = broke off from existing states (technically)

Lets not forget, alot of Vermonters move to other states, because it's pretty expensive to live there. After 10 or 20 years of the brutal winters, people move to warmer states.

Hussshhhh, don't tell anyone in the world about Vermont.

I was born and raised in VT but moved out as quickly as I could. Good jobs are very hard to come by. The winters really wear you down. Alcoholism and drug use are a very common way of life. A lot of people I grew up with (myself included) struggled with depression quite badly in the winter months. I thought this was just a normal thing until I moved to NC and realized depression is not the norm. It’s a very tough place to live especially in the smaller towns.

Really interesting. I didn't anticipate the direction of the rivers as one of the factors.

No infrastructure, high property taxes, low wages too.

I grew up in Bennington and we always liked it that way.

I grew up in Ct and my grandfather used to drive up to Vermont every year with a few of his brothers and friends to spend a few weeks fishing for striper bass. He would always come back in a great mood with gallons of maple syrup for everybody and would tell wild fishing stories.

As a Vermonter, I can say this is a great historical overview but falls *very* short of modern day dynamics driving the state's nearly stagnant population.