History of Vermont in Timeline

Vermont, a state in the New England region, is bordered by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Quebec. With an estimated population of 648,493, it is the second-least populated and sixth-smallest U.S. state. Montpelier, its capital, is the least populous state capital in the U.S., and Burlington is its most populous city, having the smallest population for a state's most populous city in the country.

1968: Vermont outlawed billboards

In 1968, Vermont outlawed the use of billboards for advertisement along its roads.

June 1976: High unemployment rate reached

In June 1976, Vermont reached a modern high unemployment rate of 9%.

1980: Employment Growth

From 1980 to 2000, employment grew by 3.4% in Vermont.

February 2000: Low unemployment rate measured

In February 2000, Vermont measured a modern low unemployment rate of 2.4%.

2000: Vacant housing units

According to the 2000 census, almost 15% of all housing units in Vermont were vacant and classified "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use".

2000: Employment Growth

From 2000 to 2006, employment in Vermont grew 7.5%.

2000: Vermont Child Health Improvement Program implemented

In 2000, the state of Vermont implemented the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program to improve preventive services and management of chronic conditions.

2000: Skier and snowboarder visits

In 2000, there were 4,579,719 skier and snowboarder visits to the state of Vermont.

2001: Skier and snowboarder visits

In 2000-2001, there were 4,579,719 skier and snowboarder visits to the state of Vermont.

2004: Decline in Vermont for cost-effective road maintenance

A 2005–06 study ranked Vermont 37th out of the states for "cost-effective road maintenance", a decline of thirteen places since 2004–05.

2005: Vermont ranked for cost-effective road maintenance

A 2005–06 study ranked Vermont 37th out of the states for "cost-effective road maintenance".

2005: Tourism in Vermont

In 2005, visitors made an estimated 13.4 million trips to Vermont, spending $1.57 billion.

2005: Vermont ranked ninth in country for volunteerism

Vermont ranked ninth in the country for volunteerism for the period 2005–08, with 35.6% of the population volunteering during this period.

2005: Vermont named nation's smartest state

Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2005.

2006: Workers in Vermont

As of 2006, Vermont had 305,000 workers, with 11% being unionized. Out of a workforce of 299,200 workers, 52,000 were government jobs (federal, state, and local).

2006: Employment Growth and Real Wages

Employment in Vermont grew 7.5% from 2000 to 2006. Real wages were $33,385 in 2006 constant dollars.

2006: Vermont named nation's smartest state and state testing standards

Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2006. In 2006, there was a gap between state testing standards and national, which is biased in favor of the state standards by 30%, on average. This puts Vermont 11th-best in the nation.

2007: Education Week ranked Vermont

Education Week ranked the state of Vermont second in high school graduation rates for 2007.

2007: Highway fatalities

In 2007, Vermont was ranked the third safest state for highway fatalities. One third of these fatal crashes involved a drunken driver.

2007: Test scores

In 2007, a U.S. Government list of test scores shows Vermont white fourth graders performed 25th in the nation for reading (229) and 26th for math (247). White eighth graders scored 18th for math (292) and 12th for reading (273).

2008: Uninsured motorists

In 2008, Vermont was the fifth best state for fewest uninsured motorists at 6%.

2008: Nonprofit organizations

In 2008, there were 2,682 nonprofit organizations in Vermont, with $2.8 billion in revenue.

2008: Snowmobiling clubs

In 2008, there were 35,000 members of 138 snowmobiling clubs in Vermont. The combined association of clubs maintains 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of trail often over private lands. The industry is said to generate "hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business."

2009: Out-of-state ownership in Ludlow

According to one estimate, as of 2009, 84% of all houses in Ludlow, Vermont, were owned by out-of-state residents.

2009: Vermont world's third-largest domicile for captive insurance companies

According to the Insurance Information Institute, Vermont in 2009 was the world's third-largest domicile for captive insurance companies, following Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

2009: Insured motorists

In 2009, 93% of Vermont motorists were insured, tying with Pennsylvania for the highest percentage.

2009: Vermont attained a high of workers

In 2009, the state of Vermont reached a high of 361,290 workers.

2009: Skier and snowboarder visits

In 2009, there were 4,125,082 skier and snowboarder visits to the state of Vermont.

2009: Number of captive insurance companies in Vermont

In 2009, there were 560 captive insurance companies in Vermont.

2010: Vermont electricity costs

As of 2010, Vermont had the lowest wholesale electricity costs in New England.

2010: Skier and snowboarder visits

In 2009–2010, there were 4,125,082 skier and snowboarder visits in the state of Vermont, a rise from recent years.

2010: Vermont hospitals billed patients

In 2010, Vermont hospitals billed patients $3.76 billion and collected $2 billion. 92,000 people were enrolled in Medicare.

2010: Vermont highway statistics

In 2010, Vermont owned 2,840 miles of highway. 2.5% of the highways were listed as "congested", and the highway fatality rate was one per 100,000,000 miles. Highways cost $28,669 per mile to maintain and 34.4% of bridges were rated deficient or obsolete.

2010: Health outcomes

In 2010, Vermont was ranked the highest in the country for health outcomes.

2010: Vermont Well-Being

In 2010, Vermont was the sixth highest ranked state for Well-Being in a study by Gallup and Healthways. In 2010, the state stood third in physical well-being of children.

2010: Vermont tied as most costly state for manufacturers

In 2010, a University of Connecticut study indicated that Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were the most expensive states in the U.S. for manufacturers.

2010: Number of captive insurance companies

In 2010, the state of Vermont had 900 captive insurance companies.

2010: Deer population

In 2010, there were about 141,000 deer in the state of Vermont.

2011: Education Statistics

In 2011, 91% of Vermont's population had graduated from high school compared with 85% nationally. Almost 34% have at least an undergraduate degree compared with 28% nationally.

2011: Medicare spending on health care in Vermont

In 2011, Medicare spent $740 million on health care in the state of Vermont.

2011: Child health system performance and prematurity report card

In 2011, Vermont ranked third in the nation in child health system performance. Also in 2011, the March of Dimes gave Vermont an "A", ranking it number one in the country on its Prematurity Report Card.

2011: Tourism Revenue

In 2011, the state government of Vermont earned $274 million in taxes and fees from tourism. 89% of the money came from out-of-state visitors, with tourism supporting over 26,000 jobs, 7.2% of total employment.

2012: Hunting of migratory birds limited

In 2012, hunting of migratory birds in Vermont was limited to October 13 to December 16. Waterfowl hunting is also controlled by federal law.

2012: Fall tourism income

In 2012, income from fall tourism accounted for $460 million, about one-quarter of all tourism in Vermont.

2012: Vehicle registration

In 2012, there were 605,000 vehicles registered in Vermont. Also in 2012, about half of greenhouse gas emissions in the state were from vehicles.

2013: Pupil-to-teacher ratio

In 2013, Vermont had the lowest ratio of pupils to teachers in the country.

2013: Vermont Translines founded

Vermont Translines, an intercity bus company, was founded by Premier Coach in 2013 partnering with Greyhound.

June 9, 2014: Vermont Translines started service

Vermont Translines, an intercity bus company founded by Premier Coach, started service on June 9, 2014, partnering with Greyhound.

2014: Farms employed illegal immigrants

As of 2014, the Pew Research Center estimated that farms in the state of Vermont employed fewer than 5,000 illegal immigrants.

2017: Vermont exploring legal challenge to Trump executive order

In 2017, Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced that the state was "exploring a legal challenge" to the executive order signed by President Donald Trump for Vermont law enforcement authorities to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and "perform the functions of immigration officers in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens".

2017: Spending on Education

In 2017, Vermont spent $1.6 billion on education for 76,000 public school children, representing more than $21,000 per student.

October 2019: Vermont unemployment rate

As of October 2019, the unemployment rate in Vermont was 2.2%.

2019: Newspapers of Record

As of 2019, the Vermont Secretary of State designates newspapers that provide general coverage across the state as the Newspapers of Record.

2019: Vermont electricity consumption

In 2019, Vermont consumed three times more electricity than it generated in-state and imported its largest share of electricity from Canada. The state's 99.9% share of electricity generation from renewable sources was the highest among all 50 states.