VERMONT INVENTION INDEX – MARCH 2025

The Invention Index measures a country’s or state’s innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Vermont Invention Index March 2025: 1.53% (A+ grade)

Vermont Invention Index over the last year:

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

Discussion:

In March, the Vermont Invention Index scored a positive sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average and underperformed the downward trend for the year. This is similar to the prior 12 months, which experienced a slight downward trend. As the world continues to recover from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is unclear if there is any backlog of applications awaiting approval or if the department has fully caught up. If approvals are not yet caught up, we may see a decrease in approvals – and a reduced Invention Index – in the coming months/years as the state feels the full economic impact of companies closing and/or being forced to minimize their staffing and therefore minimize their R&D work hours.

Vermont Invention Index – Monthly Scores

Analysis

The March 2025 Invention Index for Vermont registered at 1.53%, marking a decline from February’s 1.73%. This represents a second consecutive month of decline, although March’s figure remains relatively strong within the seven-month timeframe.

Looking across the six months preceding March, the scores exhibit a general upward trajectory with one major exception: November 2024’s sharp dip to 0.80%, which stands out as the lowest and only sub-1% value in the dataset. This anomaly significantly diverged from the otherwise high-performing months, all of which scored above 1.5%.

Following this dip, December 2024 rebounded strongly to 1.80%, indicating that November’s decline may have been a short-term fluctuation rather than a sustained trend. January 2025 then continued the momentum, achieving the peak value of 2.00%.

February 2025 showed a slight decrease to 1.73%, which continued into March with 1.53%. While the past two months reflect a mild downward trend, these scores still remain well above the November low, and consistent with the high-performing pattern seen in the other months.

Overall, the long-term trend suggests stable and high innovation activity in Vermont, especially notable from December 2024 to February 2025. March’s score, though lower, still aligns with the broader pattern and doesn’t yet suggest a significant shift. However, continued decreases in subsequent months could indicate a developing trend worth monitoring.

Learn more about the Invention Index here.

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

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