Vermont counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 14 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preserved2026 Census Gazetteer · GEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents14

Combined land9,217.3 mi²

Population (2025)644,663

Largest by landWindsor County

81.8–536.9 mi²
631–662.4 mi²
674.2–687.1 mi²
694.5–786 mi²
930.6–969.1 mi²

Each county equivalent is shaded into one of 5 groups with equal numbers of entries, from lowest (lightest) to highest value; the map starts with land area and can switch to population density. Select a county to open its profile. 2025 Census cartographic boundaries, equal-area projection. About the maps

Understanding Vermont’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Grand Isle County at 81.8 mi² to Windsor County at 969.1 mi². The largest has 11.9 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 10.5% of the combined county land in Vermont. Compare with every state’s largest county.

The median county-equivalent land area is 680.6 mi², above the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Grand Isle County has the most assigned water area, at 111.6 mi². It also has the highest water share, with water making up 57.7% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 14 entries, water accounts for 4.1% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Where people live

An estimated 644,663 people lived in Vermont on July 1, 2025 (+0.2% since 2020), or 0.2% of the national total in this dataset. Chittenden County is the most populous county equivalent, with 169,115 residents — 26.2% of the state. The largest by land, Windsor County, has 57,312.

Across the state there are 70 people per square mile of land. County densities range from 315 in Chittenden County to 9.1 in Essex County; the median county equivalent has 57. Switch the map above to density to see where the state’s population concentrates.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in Vermont to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share	Population	Per mi²
1	Windsor CountyGEOID 50027	969.1 mi²	7.5 mi²	0.8%	57,312	59
2	Rutland CountyGEOID 50021	930.6 mi²	15 mi²	1.6%	59,653	64
3	Windham CountyGEOID 50025	786 mi²	12.7 mi²	1.6%	45,204	58
4	Addison CountyGEOID 50001	766.3 mi²	41.4 mi²	5.1%	38,048	50
5	Orleans CountyGEOID 50019	694.5 mi²	27.6 mi²	3.8%	27,600	40
6	Washington CountyGEOID 50023	687.1 mi²	8.3 mi²	1.2%	59,652	87
7	Orange CountyGEOID 50017	687 mi²	4.6 mi²	0.7%	30,002	44
8	Bennington CountyGEOID 50003	674.2 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.4%	36,630	54
9	Essex CountyGEOID 50009	662.4 mi²	11.1 mi²	1.6%	6,051	9.1
10	Caledonia CountyGEOID 50005	649.2 mi²	8.6 mi²	1.3%	30,414	47
11	Franklin CountyGEOID 50011	631 mi²	58.2 mi²	8.4%	51,177	81
12	Chittenden CountyGEOID 50007	536.9 mi²	83.8 mi²	13.5%	169,115	315
13	Lamoille CountyGEOID 50015	461.3 mi²	4.9 mi²	1.1%	26,294	57
14	Grand Isle CountyGEOID 50013	81.8 mi²	111.6 mi²	57.7%	7,511	92

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles; population is the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimate, and density divides it by land area. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.