The Future of Addison County Starts With Housing

By Elise Shanbacker, Executive Director

What do healthcare, education, and economic development have in common? Housing is at the root of Vermont’s current challenges with all of them. We can’t fix these systems unless we start with housing.

Right now, about one in 20 Addison County households lives in a permanently affordable home stewarded by Addison Housing Works. These are seniors aging safely in place, families rebuilding after homelessness, childcare workers and grocery clerks trying to stay in the communities they serve. And demand is only growing. With more than 200 households on our waiting list and only 40–50 apartments turning over each year, it can take five years to access a stable, affordable place to live.

Rental vouchers have long been a critical tool in helping low-income Vermonters afford market-rate housing. But that tool is quickly disappearing. The recent loss of state-issued vouchers has meant that households who did everything right—secured temporary aid, stabilized their lives, and waited their turn—are now finding the rug pulled out from under them.

The ripple effects go far beyond individual families. Market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Addison County is about $1,410 per month. Someone earning $40,000 a year can realistically afford $1,000. Without a voucher, they’re forced to pay 42% of their income on housing—if they can find a unit at all.

This affordability gap is not just a social equity issue; it’s an economic one. If you care about inflation, you should care about the housing wage—the gap between what people earn and what they need to afford rent. When housing is scarce and expensive, wages must rise just so workers can stay local. That drives up costs for employers, which get passed on to consumers. The housing shortage is fueling the rising cost of everything from eldercare to car repairs.

At the same time, our ability to build new housing is constrained by the high cost of construction and the limited number of sites with access to municipal infrastructure. We need policies that help unlock developable land—like the Act 181 and CHIP planning processes now underway—and serious investment in community-scale infrastructure, especially for rural areas with aging water and septic systems.

One bright spot is manufactured housing. Modern manufactured homes are high-quality, energy-efficient, and cost a quarter of what it takes to build traditional housing. With average lot rent under $500 per month, they offer a rare path to affordable homeownership without deep government subsidy. But many existing manufactured housing communities face urgent infrastructure needs, and unlike towns, they can’t bond for upgrades. Sustained state and federal investment is essential to keep these communities viable.

Housing isn't a niche issue. It's the foundation everything else rests on. As federal cuts hit housing, food, and healthcare programs, we’re facing a moment that calls for real clarity and commitment. If we want Addison County to stay resilient and livable, we have to be willing to invest in the basics. That means housing. The real question isn’t whether we can afford to act. It’s whether we can afford to wait.