Employee Cost: Florida vs Vermont (2026)

Side-by-side comparison of employer costs, payroll taxes, SUTA rates, and workers' comp.

At a $60,000 salary

Florida saves $554/employee/year

$65,302 in Florida vs $65,856 in Vermont

Florida

$65,302

1.09x salary

Vermont

$65,856

1.1x salary

Cost Breakdown Comparison

Based on $60,000 annual salary

Cost Component FL VT Diff
Base Salary $60,000 $60,000
Social Security (6.2%) $3,720 $3,720
Medicare (1.45%) $870 $870
FUTA (0.6%) $42 $42
SUTA (State Unemployment) $70 $216 -$146
Workers' Compensation $600 $1,008 -$408
Total Employer Cost $65,302 $65,856 -$554

Tax Rate Comparison

Rate Florida Vermont
SUTA Rate Range 0.1% – 5.4% 0.8% – 5.4%
SUTA Typical Rate 1.0% 1.6%
SUTA Wage Base $7,000 $13,500
Workers' Comp Rate 1.0% 1.68%
State Income Tax No Yes

What This Means for Employers

For a business hiring at a $60,000 salary, choosing Florida over Vermont saves $554 per employee per year in employer-side payroll costs alone. For a team of 10, that's $5,540 annually.

The biggest difference comes from workers' compensation rates — Florida charges 1.0% vs Vermont's 1.68%. Note that federal taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA) are identical in both states.

These numbers reflect employer-side costs only and don't include benefits, overhead, or the employee's own tax burden. Use the interactive Employee Cost Calculator to model different salary levels and benefits packages.

Cost Comparison at Different Salary Levels

How the gap changes from $30K to $150K

Salary FL Total VT Total Difference
$30,000 $32,707 $33,057 -$350
$40,000 $43,572 $43,990 -$418
$50,000 $54,437 $54,923 -$486
$60,000 $65,302 $65,856 -$554
$75,000 $81,600 $82,256 -$656
$100,000 $108,762 $109,588 -$826
$125,000 $135,925 $136,921 -$996
$150,000 $163,087 $164,253 -$1,166

Click any amount to see the full cost breakdown for that salary and state. Amounts shown from the perspective of FL.

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