The short answer
As of July 2026, base rents on small industrial space in Vermont average around $12 per square foot per year, and all-in cost including common area maintenance typically lands between $15 and $20 per square foot per year. For a 1,500 SF bay, that is roughly $1,875 to $2,500 a month before utilities.
The spread is wide because the advertised number and the number you actually pay are two different things. This page explains the difference, and publishes our building's CAM budget next to what it actually cost, so you have at least one real benchmark to compare against.
This page assumes you have already decided to rent. If you have not, here is how to tell whether to rent at all.
Base rent is not the number that matters
Nearly every small industrial space in Vermont is quoted NNN, or triple net. The quoted rate covers the space itself, and you separately pay a proportionate share of what it costs to keep the property running: property taxes, building insurance, and common area maintenance. That second bucket gets abbreviated CAM.
Here is what that does to a comparison. A space quoted at $12.50/SF with $6.05/SF of NNN costs you more than a space quoted at $14.00/SF with $3.00/SF of CAM. The first looks slightly cheaper on the headline rate and is about 9% more expensive in reality. On a 1,860 SF unit, that is roughly $2,900 a year.
The gap gets wider when heat and electricity are bundled into CAM instead of submetered. A building quoted at $9.00/SF with $8.00/SF of CAM looks about 36% cheaper than $14.00 and costs the same once you add it up.
This is the most common mistake tenants make comparing two Vermont listings. The fix takes five minutes and is at the bottom of this page.
Vermont rate benchmarks, mid-2026
| Benchmark | Rate |
|---|---|
| Vermont industrial listings, statewide average base rent | about $12.00/SF/yr, ranging from $6.00 to $25.00 |
| Burlington-area warehouse, a representative brokered listing | $12.50/SF base plus $6.05/SF NNN, so $18.55/SF all-in |
| 310 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon (our building) | $14.00/SF base plus $3.00/SF CAM, so $17.00/SF all-in |
Two things to take from that. Base rents in Vermont cluster in a fairly narrow band, so base rent is rarely where a deal is won or lost. And the NNN load varies enormously between buildings, which is where the real money sits. A $6.05/SF load on a 1,860 SF unit is $11,253 a year. A $3.00/SF load on the same unit is $5,580. That difference is larger than most tenants' entire equipment budget.
Chittenden County generally prices above Rutland County on both base and NNN, so those two lines are not apples to apples. The point is the structure, not the geography.
Our CAM, budget against actual
In July we published our CAM budget before we had a year of operating history, and said we would publish the actual costs against it. Here they are.
| Line item | Budgeted | Actual | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate taxes | $8,248 | $8,592 | 75% of $11,456, rear lot reserved |
| REDC association assessment | $2,094 | $2,094 | $523.45 per quarter, full pass-through |
| Property insurance | $3,000 | $1,334 | Bound premium, replacing an estimate |
| Snow removal | $900 | $938 | 75% of estimate |
| Lawn maintenance | $821 | $855 | 75% of estimate |
| Maintenance reserve | not budgeted | $718 | Lot, exterior upkeep, and property maintenance |
| Common area utilities | $300 | $0 | Tenants hold their own accounts |
| Total | $15,363 | $14,531 | |
| Per SF | $3.27 | $3.03 | On 4,800 SF rentable |
Four things moved.
Insurance came in well under the estimate. We budgeted $3,000 against a quoted range for a landlord package and bound at $1,334. That single line is most of the difference.
We corrected the measurement basis. We had been quoting interior measured area, 4,703 SF. The industrial convention is rentable area measured to the outside face of exterior walls and the centerline of demising walls, which sums to the 4,800 SF gross building. Same costs spread over more square feet, so the per-SF rate drops.
We added a maintenance reserve we had left out. Lot, exterior upkeep, and property maintenance. The original budget assumed those were zero, which was wrong.
We dropped common area utilities. Tenants hold their own accounts, so there was nothing to allocate.
Our quoted rate stays at $3.00. Actual cost is $3.03, so we are within about $130 for the year, and the annual reconciliation handles the difference either way.
The method, stated plainly. A flat 25% of property taxes, lawn maintenance and snow removal is carved out and not charged to tenants, because that portion of the lot is reserved for our own use. Insurance and the association assessment pass through in full, because they cover the building. If the reserved area changes, the carve-out changes with it.
What is still an estimate. Snow. The $1,250 gross figure assumes roughly ten plow events, and a heavy Rutland County winter runs well past that. It is the most volatile line in any Vermont CAM and the one most likely to move at next year's reconciliation.
What to ask any landlord about CAM
A CAM estimate that comes in too low is worse for a tenant than one quoted accurately up front, because the shortfall arrives as a surprise. Before you sign anywhere, ask:
- What is in the CAM, line by line?
- What were last year's actuals per SF, not the estimate?
- Does CAM reconcile annually against actual cost, and when does the true-up land?
- Is there a cap on year-over-year increases, and does it apply to everything or only to controllable expenses? Taxes, insurance, and snow are outside a landlord's control and are commonly excluded.
- What is the cap measured against, the prior year's estimate or the prior year's actual?
Ask us the same five. We will send the CAM language from the lease before you sign anything. CAM is one clause among several: for the rest of them, see what is actually in a small industrial lease.
What is in neither number
Budget for these separately:
- Electricity. Our bays are individually submetered, with panel sizes from 100A to 200A depending on the bay, so you pay for exactly what your bay draws and nothing for your neighbor's. That does mean the number is not knowable in advance. Ask any landlord for prior-year actuals on the specific unit. If a building is not submetered and electric is bundled into CAM, a heavy user next door is on your bill. If your equipment needs three-phase power, confirm it is actually run to your specific bay, not just available at the building.
- Heat. Each of our bays has a propane unit heater in the bay and a mini split serving the office and bathroom. All heating fuel and electricity in the bay is paid by the tenant, the same as every other utility. Many small-bay buildings include no bay heat at all, so ask specifically whether the heat is in the shop area or only in the office.
- Internet and phone.
- Your own liability and contents insurance. The landlord's policy covers the building, not your tools or your operations.
- Interior buildout. Racking, benches, compressors, air lines, lifts, and anything you bolt down. See what a landlord gives you and what you pay for to know what is already in the bay before you budget for the rest.
How to compare two Vermont quotes in five minutes
- Add base rate and NNN or CAM rate together. That is your all-in per SF.
- Multiply by actual square footage, not the rounded marketing number. Ask for the measured figure.
- Divide by 12 for a monthly all-in, before utilities.
- Ask each landlord for last year's actual CAM per SF and compare it to their estimate. The gap tells you how well they forecast.
- Ask about reconciliation and caps, using the five questions above.
Worked example on a 1,860 SF unit:
| Building A at $12.50 + $6.05 | Building B at $14.00 + $3.00 | |
|---|---|---|
| All-in per SF | $18.55 | $17.00 |
| Annual | $34,503 | $31,620 |
| Monthly | $2,875 | $2,635 |
Building A advertises the lower rent and costs about $240 more every month. Run the same math on any small warehouse space near Rutland you tour, since the advertised number rarely tells the whole story.
What this kind of space is actually called
Half the difficulty of finding a small industrial unit in Vermont is that the same product gets listed under five different names depending on who wrote the listing.
- Shop space and warehouse space are what most Vermont listings and most tenants actually say.
- Flex space is broker language for a unit mixing warehouse with some office or showroom. Vermont brokers use it constantly.
- Small-bay industrial is the national industry and investor term. It appears in market reports more than in local listings.
- Contractor bays or contractor garages usually signals a self-storage operator's product: month to month, storage-oriented, often without three-phase power or a real lease. A different animal from a commercial NNN lease, and worth knowing which one you are looking at. More on that distinction: contractor bay versus storage unit.
- Light industrial unit shows up in zoning and permit language.
If you are searching, run all five. If you are running one, you are seeing a fraction of the market.
If you only need to store things rather than run a business out of the space, see what on-site container storage costs in the Rutland region for a lower-cost option.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a 1,500 SF shop bay in Vermont per month?
Roughly $1,875 to $2,500 a month all-in before electricity, depending on the building's NNN load and the town's tax rate. For our current rates, see the bays on our homepage. For help figuring out what size shop bay your business needs, see our sizing guide.
What does NNN mean on a Vermont industrial lease?
You pay base rent plus your proportionate share of property taxes, building insurance, and common area maintenance. It is the standard structure for small industrial space in Vermont.
What is a reasonable CAM for a small Vermont industrial building?
About $3.00 to $6.00 per square foot per year is common. Below $3.00 usually means a low-tax town or a landlord absorbing cost. Above $6.00 usually means high assessed value, an expensive park association, or shared utilities that are not submetered.
What is a CAM reconciliation?
CAM is billed monthly as an estimate. At year end the landlord totals actual spend, works out each tenant's share, and either bills the difference or issues a credit. Without a reconciliation clause, the estimate is effectively fixed additional rent for the whole term.
Is CAM negotiable?
The rate usually is not, since it reflects actual cost. The structure often is. Reconciliation timing, caps, what the cap applies to, and audit rights are all normal things to discuss.
Why do some listings look so much cheaper?
Because the NNN load is quoted separately, or not at all. Always get the CAM figure before comparing.
Do I pay for electricity separately?
In a submetered building, yes, and you should want to. Where electric is bundled into CAM, you are partly paying your neighbor's bill.
About these numbers
Figures are current as of October 2026. The CAM figures are the 2026 budget and actual costs for 310 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont, a three-bay flex building in the Rutland Airport Business Park. Statewide benchmark ranges are drawn from public Vermont commercial listings as of mid-2026. Tax figures are public record.
We are the owner-operator of this building, not a broker. The figures above are for one building in one town and is not a market survey, a quote, or a contractual term. Actual charges under any lease are governed by that lease.
Questions about a specific space, or want the numbers on one of our bays? Call (802) 417-2107 or email leasing@innovationbays.com.