Vermont saw a solid increase in net migration during the pandemic.
But a recent report from the state Joint Fiscal Office shows that influx didn't do much to slow down our aging demographic.
Joyce Manchester is a senior economist with the Joint Fiscal Office, and the author of the report.
Manchester says more than 17,000 people moved here between 2021 and 2022 — which was notable.
“The interest in demographics was magnified by the influx of people from other states during the pandemic," Manchester says.
But she says even with that pandemic-influenced population bump, Vermont remains one of the oldest states in the nation. That's because of the amount of baby boomers aging out of the workforce.
“There are lots of factors that go into population change. And domestic in-migration is certainly one of them, but it's not the only one, and it's not the most important one this time around," she says.
Manchester says other factors, such as Vermont’s low birth rate, make it hard to slow down the long-term trends of an aging demographic.
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