2025-2029 Housing Needs Assessment: The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is proud to publish the Vermont 2025-2029 Statewide Housing Needs Assessment, a five-year document the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires from government entities that receive federal funding. The report's findings show Vermont's statewide housing crisis is deepening, and housing costs are stretching Vermonters' budgets thin.
The Housing Needs Assessment, along with the mandated 2024 Fair Housing Analysis (expected to be published in the fall of 2024), informs the statewide Consolidated Plan that HUD approves for federal funding. State and local officials are also increasingly using the Needs Assessment to inform decisions on housing policy and spending to address housing needs in our communities.
DHCD contracted with the Vermont Housing Financing Agency (VHFA) to complete the 2025-2029 Statewide Housing Needs Assessment. VHFA also completed the 2020-2024 assessment and provides robust housing and demographic data online at housingdata.org.
Below you can find the full 2025 Housing Needs Assessment, including county-level indicators and "Fact Sheets" for each chapter of the report that highlight the major takeaways and interesting findings.
2025 Vermont Housing Needs Assessment
Fact Sheet #1: Highlights Fact Sheet #6: Seniors
Fact Sheet #2: Demographics Fact Sheet #7: Large and Small Households
Fact Sheet #3: Housing Stock Fact Sheet #8: Race and Ethnicity
Fact Sheet #4: Renters Fact Sheet #9: Homelessness
Fact Sheet #5: Homeowners Fact Sheet #10: Special Needs
Past Housing Needs Assessments
2020-2025 Housing Needs Assessment: In 2019, the Department of Housing and Community Development contracted with the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) to conduct the Vermont Housing Needs Assessment. This assessment informed the submission of the State’s 5-Year Consolidated Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other statewide and county housing and policy decisions. The Consolidated Plan is a requirement of HUD and combines information on several federal entitlement grant programs: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). Vermont is a recipient of CDBG, HOME, HTF, and ESG funds.
In addition to the written report, VHFA hosts and regularly updates the indicators included in this report on the Community Profile section of www.housingdata.org as a resource for anyone interested in the demographic makeup, housing needs, and economic indicators for communities and regions around Vermont.
Below you can find the full 2020 Housing Needs Assessment, including county-level indicators and "Fact Sheets" for each chapter of the report that highlight the major takeaways and interesting findings.
2020 Vermont Housing Needs Assessment (5.0 MB)
Fact Sheet #1: Highlights Fact Sheet #6: Seniors
Fact Sheet #2: Demographics Fact Sheet #7: Large and Small Households
Fact Sheet #3: Housing Stock Fact Sheet #8: Race and Ethnicity
Fact Sheet #4: Renters Fact Sheet #9: Special Households
Fact Sheet #5: Homeowners Fact Sheet #10: Homelessness
Analysis of Vermont Affordable Rental Housing Development Costs: "In 2019, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development initiated a study designed to help ensure that State resources for affordable housing are being used efficiently to meet the housing needs of low-income Vermonters. The primary objectives of this affordable rental housing cost study are to examine factors affecting the cost of affordable rental housing and to provide achievable recommendations to contain or reduce total development costs without sacrificing housing quality or other critical policy objectives. This report builds on prior studies of housing costs in the state, as well as recent national research on cost effectiveness in the affordable housing delivery system."
2015-2020 Vermont Housing Needs Assessment: The previous statewide Housing Needs Assessment conducted by the firm Bowen National Research in 2014 for the 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan is provided below. In addition to the statewide analysis, Bowen's report included county-level housing needs assessments for the first time. This was made possible through funding provided by Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, the Vermont Agency of Human Services, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Housing Vermont, the Vermont State Housing Authority, and the NeighborWorks® Alliance of Vermont.
Statewide Vermont Housing Needs Assessment (4.7 MB)
County-level reports: Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham, Windsor