There are 14 counties in the U.S. state of Vermont. These counties together contain 256 political units, or places, including 237 towns, 10 cities, 5 unincorporated areas, and 4 gores. Each county has a county seat, known in Vermont as shire town. In 1779, Vermont had two counties. The western side of the state was called Bennington County and the eastern was called Cumberland County.^[1] In 1781, Cumberland County was made into three counties in Vermont plus another county named Washington (not the same as the modern Washington County) that then became part of New Hampshire. Today's Washington County was known as Jefferson County from its start in 1810 until it was renamed in 1814. Essex County, Orleans County, and Caledonia County are commonly called the Northeast Kingdom.

County	FIPS Code	Shire Town [2]	Created [2]	Formed from [1]	Meaning of name [3]	Population (2020)[2]	Land Area [2]	Map
Addison County	001	Middlebury	1785	Part of Rutland County.	Joseph Addison (1672–1719), an English politician and writer.	37,363	766 sq mi (1,984 km2)
Bennington County	003	Bennington, Manchester	1779	One of the original two counties.	Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), the colonial governor of New Hampshire (1741–1766).	37,347	675 sq mi (1,748 km2)
Caledonia County	005	St. Johnsbury	1792	Part of Orange County.	Latin name for Scotland.	30,233	649 sq mi (1,681 km2)
Chittenden County	007	Burlington	1787	Part of Addison County.	Thomas Chittenden (1730–1797), first governor of Vermont (1791–1797).	168,323	537 sq mi (1,391 km2)
Essex County	009	Guildhall	1792	Part of Orange County.	Essex, a county in England.	5,920	663 sq mi (1,717 km2)
Franklin County	011	St. Albans (city)	1792	Part of Chittenden County.	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the most revered Founding Fathers of the United States.	49,946	631 sq mi (1,634 km2)
Grand Isle County	013	North Hero	1802	Part of Chittenden County and Franklin County.	Largest island in Lake Champlain.	7,293	82 sq mi (212 km2)
Lamoille County	015	Hyde Park (town)	1835	Parts of Chittenden County, Franklin County, Orleans County and Washington County.	La Mouette (meaning the seagull), named by French explorer Samuel de Champlain (~1570–1635) but written as La Mouelle by mistake, and later corrupted to current spelling.	25,945	462 sq mi (1,197 km2)
Orange County	017	Chelsea	1781	Part of Cumberland County.	Prince William (1650–1702) of Orange.	29,277	687 sq mi (1,779 km2)
Orleans County	019	Newport (city)	1792	Part of Chittenden County and Orange County.	City of Orléans, France.	27,393	695 sq mi (1,800 km2)
Rutland County	021	Rutland (city)	1781	Part of Bennington County.	Town of Rutland, Massachusetts.	60,572	930 sq mi (2,409 km2)
Washington County	023	Montpelier	1810	Parts of Orange County, Caledonia County, and Chittenden County.	George Washington (1732–1799), first President of the United States (1789–1797).	59,807	687 sq mi (1,779 km2)
Windham County	025	Newfane	1779[a] (as Cumberland County) (renamed 1781)	One of the original two counties.	Town of Windham, Connecticut.	45,905	785 sq mi (2,033 km2)
Windsor County	027	Woodstock	1781	Part of Cumberland County.	Town of Windsor, Connecticut.	57,753	970 sq mi (2,512 km2)

• ^a There are several sources that state the formation year for Windham County is 1781 and that Cumberland County was dissolved rather than renamed.^[4]