Chittenden County, Vermont

Chittenden County Education, Geography, and History

Chittenden County is a county located in the state of Vermont. Based on 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 County is the most populous county in the state, with more than twice as many residents as Vermont's second-most populous county, Rutland County. 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.

Etymology - Origin of Chittenden County Name

For Thomas Chittenden. Chittenden was born in East Guilford, Connecticut and moved to Vermont in 1774, where he founded the town of Williston. During the American Revolution, Chittenden was a member of a committee empowered to negotiate with the Continental Congress to allow Vermont to join the Union.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Chittenden County History

The county of Chittenden was incorporated by act of the legislature of Vermont, Oct. 22, 1787. It is bounded on the north by the counties of Grand Isle, Franklin, and Lamoille; south by the county of Addison; east by Lamoille and Wasington; and west by the west line of the state, and the southerly part of the county of Grand Isle. The county is eroneously said to be bounded "on the west by Lake Champlain." By statute [see Revised Statutes of Vermont, 1839], the western boundary includes "so much of Lake Champlain as lies in this state west of the towns in said county adjoining the lake, and not included within the limits of Grand Isle." The border towns, by their charters, were bounded "on the west by the lake;" and it seems that the legislature did not consider that they extended, by legal construction, to the west line of the state--which passes along its main or deepest channel.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 620 square miles (1,605 km²), of which, 539 square miles (1,396 km²) of it is land and 81 square miles (209 km²) of it (13.01%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

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

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 *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, which are located in the city of Burlington. A campus of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Vermont's first pharmacy school) and the campus of Saint Michael's College are in the town of Colchester. A branch of the Community College of Vermont is located in Winooski and a satellite campus of Vermont Technical College is located in Williston.

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