Living Wage
What a Vermont living wage looks like.
Every figure on this page comes from the union compensation report (2026-05-27) and the VT Joint Fiscal Office basic-needs budget. Nothing is invented; nothing is extrapolated.
What you earn vs. what it costs to live here
The gap, made visible.
Current minimum
$25,781
Livable wage (2026 CPI)
$30,366.64
Gap
$4,586 (15.1%)
Current minimum stipends are the published UVM 2026-27 figures ($25,781 for 9-month and $34,375 for 12-month appointments). The union compensation report puts the gap to a 2026 CPI-adjusted livable wage at 17.78%.
Comparison tool
Livable-wage targets
Choose an appointment length and a model. Both come from the union compensation report — the 2024 base uses VT JFO figures directly; the 2026 view adjusts them for the Consumer Price Index.
Base + Consumer Price Index Rate (2026)
9-month appointment
$30,366.64
Salaried equivalent at $21.06/hr · $3,374 per month over 9 months.
Increase required
17.78%
over current minimum stipends. The 2026 CPI-adjusted livable wage is the smallest figure the union compensation report identifies as keeping pace with what VT JFO already publishes for basic needs in Vermont.
Verified
VT JFO basic-needs total
$2,803 per month for a single adult in shared housing — the floor underneath every number above. See the full breakdown in the section below.
The floor
What the VT JFO says basic needs cost.
Required by Vermont statute (2 V.S.A. § 526). The Joint Fiscal Office publishes a monthly basic-needs budget by household scenario. This is the single-adult, shared-housing figure — the most modest of the lot — and it's the floor underneath every comparison on this page.
2024 VT Basic Needs Budget — Single Person, Shared Housing (Urban)
VerifiedThe Vermont Joint Fiscal Office publishes a monthly basic-needs budget per Vermont statute (2 V.S.A. § 526). The line items below are what a single adult in shared housing needed each month in 2024 — before paying federal or state taxes. These are the 2024 figures and don't account for inflation since then.
| Category | Per month |
|---|---|
| Food | $481 |
| Housing | $968 |
| Transportation | $534 |
| Health Care | $223 |
| Dental Care | $4 |
| Child Care | $0 |
| Clothing and Household Expenses | $153 |
| Personal Care Products | $47 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $152 |
| Telecommunications | $96 |
| Rental Insurance | $11 |
| Term Life Insurance | $0 |
| Savings | $133 |
| Total monthly expenses | $2,803 |
Annual expenses
$33,631
Federal & state taxes
$6,983
Annual income needed
$40,614
Hourly livable wage
$19.53/hr
VT Legislative Joint Fiscal Office, in accordance with 2 V.S.A. § 526
Peer institutions
What other graduate workers earn at peer schools.
Published minimum stipends at peer flagship institutions, as compiled in the union compensation report (p. 5). UVM is shown both as the published 2026-27 minimum and as the union's 2026 CPI-adjusted proposal so the gap reads at a glance.
Peer institutions — graduate stipends
VerifiedPublished minimum stipends at peer flagship institutions. Two UVM rows are shown for context: the published 2026-27 minimum and the union's 2026 CPI-adjusted proposal. 9- and 12-month appointments are scaled separately so the gap reads at a glance.
9-month appointments
- UVMCurrent minimum$25,781
- UVMUnion proposal (2026 CPI-adjusted)$30,367
- UConnMA$29,884
- UConnPhD$34,961
- UMassGEO$29,556
12-month appointments
- UVMCurrent minimum$34,375
- UVMUnion proposal (2026 CPI-adjusted)$40,435
- UMassGEO$40,446
Tell UVM the math doesn't work.
The fastest way to support the union's compensation position is to email the administration with a pre-filled letter — two minutes, you can edit before sending.