This dashboard is maintained as a shared resource for the Stowe business community — a way to track tourism and retail activity using data the State of Vermont already collects, updated each quarter. It combines two series: Meals & Rooms tax receipts (lodging, dining, and alcohol sales) and Sales & Use tax receipts from retail (excluding grocery and wholesale). Because every lodging, restaurant, and retail business in town files these taxes monthly, the aggregated totals are a reliable proxy for visitor spending — no survey or estimate required.
All figures are shown two ways: as originally collected (nominal) and adjusted for inflation to constant January 2019 dollars (real), using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-U. The real figures are the ones that matter for judging whether Stowe’s economy is actually growing, since nominal totals rise with inflation even when underlying activity is flat — that’s why the four stat boxes above lead with real growth. Use the toggle above to switch every chart on the page between the two views.
The state periodically revises prior filings as amended returns and audits come in, so this dataset is rebuilt each quarter using the most current figures available for every month, not just what was originally filed. Vermont’s short-term rental platforms and composite out-of-state filers have been reported only at the state level since January 2023 and are excluded from the statewide comparison so pre- and post-2023 figures stay apples-to-apples; Stowe’s own numbers are unaffected either way. Because it’s the best available signal for statewide STR activity, that “Other” category is also tracked as its own chart, in the Vermont section below.
Seasons are defined as Winter (December through March), Spring (April–June), Summer (July–August), and Fall (September–November), grouping December with the following year’s Winter to match how the ski season actually falls on the calendar.