Moving from Washington to Vermont
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Washington and Vermont, side by side.
Moving to Vermont costs about
-$280/mo
less than Washington each month, renting
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Vermont, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Vermont costs $316,600 against $564,600 in Washington, but you would pay about $5,034 a year in property tax rather than $4,573. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Washington vs Vermont at a glance
| Washington | Vermont | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $564,600 | $316,600 |
| Median rent | $1,760/mo | $1,234/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Up to 8.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 1.59% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 97 |
| Utilities | 93 | 126 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | WA | VT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,760 | $1,234 | -$526 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $0 | $246 | +$246 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $101 | $93 | -$9 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,913 | $1,783 | -$130 |
| Utilities | $379 | $514 | +$135 |
| Total | -$280 | ||
What the move itself costs
$4,400 to $9,200
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,100 to $1,500, against roughly $1,000 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 6-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Seattle is not Washington-average and Burlington is not Vermont-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.