The median income of married Vermont tax filers rose to $66,598 in 2010, the first inflation-adjusted increase since 2007, according to The Vermont Economy Newsletter’s analysis of just-released Vermont Tax Department data. After adjusting for inflation, median family income rose by 0.9%. Fifty percent of families earn more than the median and fifty percent earn less.
‘This is the first time since the recession that the median family income in Vermont has increased,’ noted Art Woolf, co-author of the study and editor of The Vermont Economy Newsletter. ‘During the recession real median income fell by 4.6%, so we are not yet back to pre-recession levels,’ noted Woolf.
‘The rise in median income is highly correlated with the better labor market conditions the state experienced in 2010,’ said Richard Heaps, the study’s co-author. ‘Vermont’s jobs picture brightened in 2010 and that translated into higher wage and income gains for Vermonters.’
Woolf and Heaps forecast that the median family income continued to grow in 2011. ‘Our forecast for 2011 is an inflation-adjusted gain of 1.4%. The median income Vermont family will earn $70,000 in 2011,’ said Woolf, ‘although after adjusting for inflation, it will still be about $1,700 below the 2007 peak level. This forecast won’t be confirmed until data are released in January 2013.’
‘The Vermont Tax Department data are the most comprehensive data available on Vermont family income,’ said Heaps. ‘All other government data sources are based on a small sample of Vermonters whereas the Tax Department data is based on the complete universe of more than 125,000 Vermont families with both a husband and wife present.’
‘The Tax Department data compare favorably to U.S. Census Bureau estimates,’ commented Woolf. ‘The Census Bureau estimates that the median income of Vermont married couple families was $73,000 in the late 2000s, which is nearly ten percent higher than our figure. However, the Census median income figure is just an estimate and is based on a small sample and on what people report to an interviewer. The Vermont Tax Department data are real numbers reported on a tax form and are not based on a sample. We believe it is more accurate than the Census estimate,’ noted Woolf.
Vermont Economy Newsletter. 2.6.2012