Washington County, Vermont

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 12.4 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
• Aging population: Median age of 44 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 4,523 workers (20.6% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $71,664. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 8,418 and is counted separately.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $5.2B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $116,926 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $31,561, a 3.7x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing concentrates at 4.58x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 12 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 42.1% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.8x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 73.7% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Vacancy level: 16.6% of housing units are vacant, below the Vermont rate of 19.4%, and down from 19.3% in 2019.
• Mostly second homes: seasonal, recreational and occasional-use units are 72.7% of vacant units, so the headline rate is not available supply.
• Genuinely available supply: units listed for rent or for sale are 9% of the vacant stock, or 1.5% of all housing units against the 16.6% headline vacancy rate. Absorbable supply for an incoming employer is thin, and the gap between the two is the redevelopment and conversion opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $50,364 can pay without cost burden (~$1,259/mo), and 39% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

• Succession risk is real: 24% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Healthy participation: 65.3% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
• Talent pipeline: 3 institutions in Washington County award 1,851 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Washington County shows meaningful potential for nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing attraction, with a 4.58x concentration and 354 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 24% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, religious, grantmaking, civic, professional orgs, and insurance carriers and related activities, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 42.1% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.