Why Did Migrants Choose Vermont in 2020-2023?
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Beginning in March 2020, as COVID-19 travel restrictions were put into place, journalists, residents, and migration researchers began to remark on new migration into rural areas. We noticed this in Vermont too and it prompted the question:. "Who are the new Vermonters and why are they choosing Vermont?"
With funding from UVM's James M. Jeffords Grant Program for Policy Studies, we designed a study to answer this question. In 2021 we held focus groups with 29 individuals who had moved to Vermont since March 2020. In 2023 we conducted two follow-up surveys with these same research participants. |
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Key Findings
- One in three research participants moved to Vermont for climate-related reasons.
- New migrants to Vermont highly value the rural landscape, small community size, and liberal social values.
- New migrants cite housing availability and affordability as well as a lack of racial and age diversity in Vermont as concerns.
- Most research participants have remained in Vermont and are content living in the state, even with recent flooding and air pollution events.
Read the full report here: Why Did Migrants Choose Vermont in 2020-2023? Climate, Rural Landscapes, and Small Communities
Acknowledgements
Thank you to UVM's James M Jeffords Fund, to research assistants Cal Hale and Kara Campbell, and to the research participants who generously shared their migration stories with us.
Thank you to UVM's James M Jeffords Fund, to research assistants Cal Hale and Kara Campbell, and to the research participants who generously shared their migration stories with us.