Employee Cost: Oregon vs Vermont (2026)

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

At a $60,000 salary

Vermont saves $826/employee/year

$66,682 in Oregon vs $65,856 in Vermont

Oregon

$66,682

1.11x salary

Vermont

$65,856

1.1x salary

Cost Breakdown Comparison

Based on $60,000 annual salary

Cost Component OR 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) $1,162 $216 +$946
Workers' Compensation $648 $1,008 -$360
State-Mandated Insurance $240 $0 +$240
Total Employer Cost $66,682 $65,856 +$826

Tax Rate Comparison

Rate Oregon Vermont
SUTA Rate Range 0.7% – 5.4% 0.8% – 5.4%
SUTA Typical Rate 2.2% 1.6%
SUTA Wage Base $52,800 $13,500
Workers' Comp Rate 1.08% 1.68%
State Income Tax Yes Yes
Paid Family Leave 0.4% Not required

What This Means for Employers

For a business hiring at a $60,000 salary, choosing Vermont over Oregon saves $826 per employee per year in employer-side payroll costs alone. For a team of 10, that's $8,256 annually.

The biggest difference comes from SUTA (state unemployment tax) — Oregon charges 2.2% vs Vermont's 1.6%. 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 OR Total VT Total Difference
$30,000 $33,441 $33,057 +$384
$40,000 $44,574 $43,990 +$584
$50,000 $55,707 $54,923 +$784
$60,000 $66,682 $65,856 +$826
$75,000 $83,051 $82,256 +$796
$100,000 $110,334 $109,588 +$746
$125,000 $137,616 $136,921 +$696
$150,000 $164,899 $164,253 +$646

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

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