Chittenden County, Vermont

Not to be confused with Chittenden, Vermont.

Chittenden County, Vermont
Chittenden County Superior Court in Burlington
Location in the U.S. state of Vermont
Vermont's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 22, 1787
Shire Town	Burlington
Largest city	Burlington
Area
• Total	619 sq mi (1,603 km2)
• Land	537 sq mi (1,391 km2)
• Water	83 sq mi (215 km2), 13%
Population
• (2014 Estimate)	160,531
• Density	298.4/sq mi (115/km²)
Congressional district	At-large
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4

Chittenden County /ˈtʃɪtəndən/ is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,545. The estimate for 2014 is 160,531. Its shire town is Burlington, the most populous city in the state. Home to nearly a quarter of Vermont's total population, Chittenden is the most populous county in the state, with more than twice as many residents as Vermont's second-most populous county, Rutland. It is named after Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its constitution as a republic and state, Thomas Chittenden.

Chittenden County is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 619 square miles (1,600 km²), of which 537 square miles (1,390 km²) is land and 83 square miles (210 km²) (13%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Vermont by area.

Originally, Chittenden County contained parts of other counties. It included all of today's Franklin, Grand Isle, and Lamoille counties, and parts of today's Orleans, Washington, and Addison counties.

Adjacent counties

• Grand Isle County – north
• Franklin County – northeast
• Lamoille County – east
• Washington County – southeast
• Addison County – south
• Essex County, New York – southwest
• Clinton County, New York – northwest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	7,287		—
1800	12,778		75.4%
1810	18,120		41.8%
1820	16,955		−6.4%
1830	21,765		28.4%
1840	22,977		5.6%
1850	29,036		26.4%
1860	28,171		−3.0%
1870	36,480		29.5%
1880	32,792		−10.1%
1890	35,389		7.9%
1900	39,600		11.9%
1910	42,447		7.2%
1920	43,708		3.0%
1930	47,471		8.6%
1940	52,098		9.7%
1950	62,570		20.1%
1960	74,425		18.9%
1970	99,131		33.2%
1980	115,534		16.5%
1990	131,761		14.0%
2000	146,571		11.2%
2010	156,545		6.8%
Est. 2014	160,531		2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2014

As of the census of 2010, there were 156,545 people, 62,587 households, and 35,169 families residing in the county. The population density was 272 people per square mile (105/km²). There were 61,302 housing units at an average density of 109 per square mile (42/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.21% White, 1.71% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.9% were of Irish, 12.7% English, 12.0% French Canadian, 11.9% French, 7.4% German, 6.9% American and 6.3% Italian ancestry according to the 2000 census. 92.5% spoke English, 2.7% French and 1.2% Spanish as a first language.

2014 U.S. Census Estimates

In 2014, there were 160,531 people, and 67,271 households. The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, and 2.1% from two or more races. 2.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 67,271 households of which 36.23% had children under age 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.70% were non-families. 24.31% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.72% had someone living alone who was age 65 or older. Average household size was 2.67 and average family size was 3.13.

In the county, age distribution was as follows: 18.7% under the age of 18, 15.23% from 18 to 24, 32.05% from 25 to 44, 20.82% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.06 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

In 2008, 19% described their ancestry as Irish, 17% English, 14% French and 9% French-Canadian.

In 2007, census department estimates that Chittenden had the youngest average age in the state, 37.5. This compares with the actual census in 2000 of 34.2 years.

In 2008, about 29% of the population lives alone. 59% of households consist of families. 38% of men and 35% of women, age 15 or older, have never married. 6% of the population were born in a foreign country, 8% of residents speak a language other than English at home. Half the population has a college degree.

From 2000 to 2008, residents left Chittenden in high numbers for places outside Vermont. Still, population increased slightly, in part from immigration from foreign countries.

Government

As in all Vermont counties, there is a small executive function which is mostly consolidated at the state level. Remaining county government is judicial. There are no "county taxes."

In 2007, median property taxes in the county were $3,809, placing it 265 out of 1,817 counties in the nation with populations over 20,000. It stood first in Vermont.

Judicial

The State Attorney (elected) is T. J. Donovan. In 2008, he said that "Alcohol is involved in most of our cases."

Elections

Presidential election results

Year	Democratic	Republican
2012	69.6% 53,626	28% 21,571
2008	71.4% 59,611	26.7% 22,237
2004	63.5% 49,369	34.0% 26,422
2000	54.4% 39,156	36.3% 26,105

Economy

Personal income

According to the US Census, the median household income for the years 2007 and 2011 was $62,260. The per capita income for the same period was $32,533.

As of the 2010 US Census, the median income for a household in the county was $63,989, and the median income for a family was $59,460. Males had a median income of $38,541 versus $27,853 for females. The per capita income for the county was $33,281. About 4.90% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Burton Snowboards is headquartered in Burlington.

GlobalFoundries (a former IBM microelectronics business), in Essex Junction, is Vermont's largest private employer. While it was IBM, it provided 25% of all manufacturing jobs in Vermont. It was responsible for $1 billion of the state's annual economy.

Burton Snowboards employs 500 people with a payroll of $28 million in 2008.

Retailing

The Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington

One measure of economic activity is retail sales. In 2007, Chittenden led the state with 29% of sales, as measured by sales tax reports. This amounted to US$1.52 billion. Four local cities stood among the top five areas in the state: 1- Williston, 2-South Burlington, 4-Colchester, and 5-Burlington.

Real estate

In 2008, a vacancy rate for office space reached 11%, called "historic".

Education

There are several school districts within the county, including Burlington, Winooski and Chittenden East. Teachers salaries in 2007–8 varied from lows of $33,000 to $38,000 annually. Top salaries ranged from $66,000 to $79,000. Teachers pay from 10–20% of their health premiums with many contracts at 12%.

Higher education

The University of Vermont is Vermont's flagship public research university and is located in Burlington.

Chittenden County is home to the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Burlington College all located in Burlington; Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Vermont's first pharmacy school and Saint Michael's College located in Colchester; a branch of the Community College of Vermont located in Winooski; and a branch of Vermont Technical College located in Williston.

Personal health and safety

In the first national survey by Robert Wood Johnson and the University of Wisconsin in 2010, Vermont ranked the highest in the country for health outcomes. The top county in Vermont was Chittenden.

Infrastructure

Consistent with the rest of New England, Vermont (and Chittenden) have little formal county government. There are a few agencies that serve county-wide. One is the Chittenden County Solid Waste District.

Solid waste

In 2008, the Solid Waste District announced that it would charge trash haulers $17/ton for recyclables. Formerly it was paying $7/ton. The global economy has reduced the demand for recycled materials.

Roads

Interstate 89 crosses Chittenden County initially from east to west, then makes a northward turn in South Burlington to run north along the Lake Champlain shoreline. The full trajectory is generally from southeast to northwest. There are seven interchanges within the county. Four of the interchanges provide direct access to U.S. Route 2, which parallels the interstate throughout most of the county. U.S. Route 7, the county's main north-south surface route, is also directly accessible from two interchanges.

In 2009, the National Department of Transportation measured 105.5 miles (169.8 km) of "major arteries" in the county. Of these 24.5% were considered to be in "not acceptable" condition, the worst percentage in the state.

The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization measures traffic, analyzes road conditions, and allocates federal and state funds accordingly.

Athletics

There is a private, amateur Champlain Valley Swim League with nine members, mostly from Chittenden.

Communities

Cities

• Burlington (shire town)
• South Burlington
• Winooski

Towns

• Bolton
• Charlotte
• Colchester
• Essex
• Hinesburg
• Huntington
• Jericho
• Milton
• Richmond
• Shelburne
• St. George
• Underhill
• Westford
• Williston

Villages

• Essex Junction
• Jericho

Census-designated places

• Hinesburg
• Milton
• Richmond
• Shelburne

Unincorporated communities

In Vermont, gores and grants are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited).

• Buels Gore
• Jonesville

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Chittenden County, Vermont
• USS Chittenden County (LST-561)

External links

• Chittenden County Sheriff's Department
• National Register of Historic Places listing for Chittenden Co., Vermont
• Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce Business and tourism information.