County Employment and Wages in Vermont — Fourth Quarter 2025

Employment declined 0.8 percent in Vermont’s only large county, Chittenden, from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Mark J. Maggi noted that the rate of employment growth in Chittenden ranked 282^nd among the 366 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)

Employment in Chittenden stood at 102,900 in December 2025, accounting for 33.3 percent of total employment in Vermont. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2025

The average weekly wage in Chittenden increased 5.7 percent over the year to $1,578. The national average was $1,569, up 4.2 percent over the year. Chittenden’s weekly wage ranked 87^th nationally, and the percent change ranked 42^nd among the largest U.S. counties.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 13 small counties in Vermont, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels for all 13 smaller counties were below the national average. Washington reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,446). Essex reported the lowest average weekly wage ($1,083) in the state.

Among all 14 Vermont counties, 3 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,175, 4 had wages from $1,175 to $1,224, 3 had wages from $1,225 to $1,274, and 4 had average weekly wages of $1,275 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Vermont, fourth quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,569)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the largest county in Vermont, fourth quarter 2025
Area	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
Area	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	December 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Fourth quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	12,428.4	156,700.2	0.2	--	1,569	--	4.2	--
Vermont	34.5	309.3	-0.9	--	1,378	29	5.3	5
Chittenden	9.8	102.9	-0.8	282	1,578	87	5.7	42
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Vermont, fourth quarter 2025
Area	Establishments	Employment December 2025	Average weekly wage ($) (1)
United States (2)	12,428,415	156,700,218	1,569
Vermont	34,450	309,329	1,378
Addison	1,894	15,229	1,280
Bennington	2,063	16,648	1,253
Caledonia	1,267	11,204	1,182
Chittenden	9,846	102,869	1,578
Essex	201	1,049	1,083
Franklin	1,647	16,328	1,266
Grand Isle	318	1,287	1,102
Lamoille	1,621	13,132	1,213
Orange	1,094	7,673	1,211
Orleans	1,137	10,342	1,156
Rutland	2,754	25,678	1,253
Washington	3,295	33,366	1,446
Windham	2,564	21,648	1,188
Windsor	3,193	23,349	1,324
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, fourth quarter 2025
State	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
State	Establishments, fourth quarter (thousands)	December 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2024–25	Fourth quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2024–25	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	12,428.4	156,700.2	0.2	1,569	--	4.2	--
Alabama	167.4	2,135.3	0.5	1,301	36	3.7	37
Alaska	25.3	317.3	-0.3	1,497	16	4.7	14
Arizona	227.4	3,278.3	0.0	1,446	20	3.0	47
Arkansas	113.0	1,318.2	0.4	1,213	49	5.0	8
California	2,013.7	18,351.7	0.6	1,954	4	4.6	16
Colorado	258.5	2,896.4	-0.6	1,683	8	5.6	3
Connecticut	149.8	1,706.5	0.1	1,801	6	5.0	8
Delaware	47.3	481.0	0.1	1,502	15	4.7	14
District of Columbia	51.0	726.1	-4.5	2,587	1	4.1	24
Florida	886.2	10,013.2	0.3	1,471	17	4.8	12
Georgia	398.7	4,925.4	0.1	1,440	21	3.5	40
Hawaii	63.0	650.0	-0.2	1,411	25	5.0	8
Idaho	104.3	875.7	1.8	1,303	35	5.8	2
Illinois	387.7	6,089.5	-0.1	1,588	11	3.3	42
Indiana	195.6	3,211.2	0.1	1,276	40	4.5	17
Iowa	110.6	1,560.0	-0.2	1,282	39	3.7	37
Kansas	101.8	1,443.2	-0.1	1,268	44	4.1	24
Kentucky	161.3	2,008.7	-0.1	1,235	46	3.8	34
Louisiana	159.2	1,927.3	-0.5	1,267	45	3.2	44
Maine	67.6	644.7	-0.1	1,332	33	4.2	21
Maryland	199.5	2,754.6	-1.1	1,616	10	3.0	47
Massachusetts	298.5	3,625.5	-0.9	1,980	2	4.9	11
Michigan	316.9	4,412.7	0.0	1,427	23	4.2	21
Minnesota	215.2	2,948.0	0.0	1,505	14	3.7	37
Mississippi	92.2	1,180.9	0.3	1,075	51	5.1	7
Missouri	259.9	2,920.8	-0.1	1,324	34	4.4	18
Montana	62.3	512.3	-0.1	1,296	38	3.3	42
Nebraska	78.5	1,024.0	-0.2	1,275	42	4.0	31
Nevada	111.0	1,592.1	1.7	1,395	27	3.2	44
New Hampshire	67.9	688.8	-0.6	1,652	9	4.8	12
New Jersey	343.1	4,343.1	0.2	1,691	7	3.9	33
New Mexico	69.7	875.3	-0.3	1,275	42	4.1	24
New York	719.1	9,907.5	0.4	1,975	3	5.4	4
North Carolina	392.1	4,991.1	0.9	1,409	26	3.8	34
North Dakota	37.0	430.4	-0.2	1,350	31	2.7	49
Ohio	348.5	5,554.4	0.0	1,358	30	4.1	24
Oklahoma	129.3	1,717.1	0.1	1,217	48	4.1	24
Oregon	177.9	1,975.8	-1.0	1,468	19	3.2	44
Pennsylvania	398.1	6,094.8	0.2	1,470	18	4.0	31
Rhode Island	49.1	500.3	-0.1	1,429	22	6.0	1
South Carolina	192.4	2,344.7	1.5	1,276	40	4.3	20
South Dakota	41.2	458.9	-0.2	1,230	47	4.1	24
Tennessee	225.2	3,281.6	-0.3	1,424	24	3.8	34
Texas	860.8	14,255.2	0.8	1,549	13	4.2	21
Utah	144.6	1,761.6	1.4	1,389	28	4.1	24
Vermont	34.5	309.3	-0.9	1,378	29	5.3	5
Virginia	324.0	4,166.9	0.5	1,585	12	2.6	50
Washington	242.1	3,590.3	-0.3	1,948	5	2.4	51
West Virginia	62.8	698.3	-0.6	1,203	50	3.5	40
Wisconsin	213.9	2,946.2	-0.1	1,346	32	5.3	5
Wyoming	31.7	278.4	-0.8	1,297	37	4.4	18
Puerto Rico	53.5	974.7	-0.2	735	(3)	2.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.0	34.7	0.3	1,068	(3)	2.7	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Last Modified Date: Friday, June 12, 2026

Northeast Information Office

County Employment and Wages in Vermont — Fourth Quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,569)