Vermont Counties Map: Click All 14 Counties

How many counties are in Vermont?

Vermont has 14 counties. 43 states have more, and 5 have fewer.

Vermont has 14 counties. Grand Isle County is made up of islands and a peninsula in Lake Champlain. Washington County holds the capital, Montpelier, the smallest state capital by population, and Chittenden County (Burlington) has the most people.

Vermont's counties follow its long, narrow shape. Lake Champlain and New York form the western border, and the Connecticut River forms the whole eastern border with New Hampshire, so most counties line up along one side or the other. The Green Mountains run down the middle of the state from north to south, separating the Champlain Valley counties from those along the Connecticut River.

How Vermont's counties were formed

Vermont's first counties were created in 1778, while it was an independent republic, before it joined the Union in 1791. The state split them as towns filled the valleys. Grand Isle County was formed in 1802, and Lamoille County, created in 1835, was the 14th and last. Vermont calls a county seat a shire town, and Bennington County has two of them, Bennington and Manchester.

Vermont regions and the counties in each

Vermont is learned best as a long, thin map. The Champlain Valley on the west includes Grand Isle, Chittenden (Burlington) and Addison counties. The Green Mountains run down the middle through Lamoille, Washington (Montpelier), Rutland and Bennington. The Northeast Kingdom is Orleans, Essex and Caledonia counties. The Connecticut River Valley on the east includes Orange, Windsor and Windham counties, across the river from New Hampshire.

Notable places on the Vermont county map

Mount Mansfield, the state's highest point at 4,393 feet, rises above Stowe, and Lake Champlain forms much of the western border. Montpelier, in Washington County, is the smallest state capital by population, and nearby Barre is famous for its granite quarries. Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Museum are in Chittenden County. Vermont makes more maple syrup than any other state, which makes a good cross-curricular hook for a county map lesson.

Vermont counties map: the biggest and smallest

Windsor County is the largest county in Vermont, with 970 square miles of land, about 11% of the state. Grand Isle County is the smallest, at 82 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Grand Isle County (82 sq mi), Lamoille County (462 sq mi) and Chittenden County (537 sq mi).

Which counties in Vermont have the most people?

Chittenden County has the most people, about 170,851 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 26% of everyone in Vermont. The three biggest counties together hold 45% of the state's 648,493 people. Essex County has the fewest, about 6,037.

The most crowded is Chittenden County, with about 318 people per square mile. The emptiest is Essex County, with about 9 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Montpelier in?

Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, is in Washington County. Washington County ranks 3rd of 14 by population. Vermont is called the Green Mountain State, and it became the 14th state in 1791.

Counties on the Vermont border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Vermont shares a border with Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York.

How Vermont's counties compare with other states

Vermont ranks 43rd among the 50 states in land area and 49th in population. Its average county covers about 658 square miles and holds about 46,321 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Vermont's counties are smaller than usual in size. Small counties pack more names into the same space, so zooming in helps.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Vermont

• Grand Isle and Chittenden counties sit on Lake Champlain in the northwest.
• Essex County is the northeast corner, sometimes called the Northeast Kingdom with Orleans and Caledonia.
• Windham and Bennington counties form the southern border with Massachusetts.

With 14 counties, you can take on the whole map at once in a Practice round. Then print the Vermont county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 14 Vermont counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Vermont geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Northeast states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see vermont homeschool laws, and check vermont town tuitioning to see whether a program may help pay for Vermont history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.