Vermont has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country. Multiple 2025-2026 sources put the state's average effective property tax rate at roughly 1.7%-1.9% of assessed home value (SmartAsset's widely cited figure is 1.90%; the Tax Foundation puts owner-occupied effective rate at 1.51%; WalletHub/other rankings show 1.71%-1.74%). Whichever exact figure is used, Vermont's rate runs 1.5x to nearly 2x the ~0.99% U.S. national average effective rate, consistently ranking Vermont among the 3rd-8th highest-tax states in the nation. This is driven largely by Vermont's heavy reliance on property taxes (mainly a statewide "education property tax") to fund local school budgets, since the state has no local sales tax option and relatively low other local revenue sources. Rates also vary significantly by town/school district: Chittenden County (Burlington area) has the highest median tax bills in the state, nearly double the national average, while more rural counties in the Northeast Kingdom run lower.
Example: Using SmartAsset's 2025-2026 data, the typical Vermont homeowner pays about $5,026/year in property tax on the statewide median home value. A separately cited example: a median-valued Vermont home of $290,500 taxed at an effective rate of ~1.71% produces an annual bill of about $4,956. In Chittenden County specifically (Vermont's largest and highest-cost county, including Burlington), the median annual property tax bill is about $6,469 - the highest in the state.
Reported "average effective rate" figures for Vermont vary meaningfully by source (1.42% to 1.92%) because different organizations use different methodologies (e.g., statewide median vs. mean, owner-occupied only vs. all residential, or which tax year's grand list/reappraisal data is used). For the most defensible current figure, cite SmartAsset (1.90%, effective rate) or the Tax Foundation (1.51%, owner-occupied) and note the range rather than presenting a single number as definitive. Also note Vermont's legislature passed a FY2026 property tax bill (H.491/Act 24) with rates rising roughly 1.1%-3.8% depending on the source and town, so homeowners should check their specific town's current-year homestead rate via the VT Department of Taxes "Ed-Rates" page rather than relying solely on statewide averages.
Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.