Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/02/23/green_mountains_good_karma?mode=PF

On February 25, 2005 The Boston Globe reported, "Buddhism has taken root with astonishing vigor in Vermont. California may have the nation's largest number of Buddhists, but Vermont, where Asian-Americans are barely 1 percent of the state's population of 621,394, has what surveys suggest is the highest concentration of Caucasian Buddhists. What began largely as a flirtation with alternative beliefs during the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s has evolved in Vermont into a mainstream religion. Buddhists here are a white-collar bunch: lawyers, software developers, and teachers devoted to spiritual enlightenment, a pursuit that they say reaches deeper than the current fascination with Buddhist-influenced yoga and meditation. The trend is evident in the state. Buddhism is thriving in such cities as Burlington and Montpelier, but also in remote pockets such as Barnet, 58 miles south of the Canadian border, in Caledonia County, which is home to the state's most significant Buddhist population."