PlainSpending

Chittenden County

$2.0B in FY2025 - a heavy absolute book at $11,728 per capita.

Vermont · FIPS 50007

In FY2025, Chittenden County in Vermont posted a dense absolute book of $2.0B ($11,728 per capita across 168,323 residents). That is 25.0% below the national average and 14.9% below the Vermont average. Social Security Administration leads tracked agency share. Statewide per-capita rank: #2 of 14.

Total spending
$2.0B
Per capita
$11,728
vs. national avg
-25.0%
Fiscal year
FY2025

Heavy absolute federal book

Chittenden County sits #314 of 3,224 counties by total obligations ($2.0B).

Heavy absolute federal book

Chittenden County posts top-quartile federal per-capita spending nationally, with spending dominated by Social Security Administration.

National per-capita rank
Top 16%
of 3,232 US counties
Per-capita spending
$11,728
Leading agency
Social Security Administration
53.2% of tracked spending
Vermont rank
#2 of 14

How Chittenden County Compares

Per-capita federal spending: Chittenden County vs. Vermont and the nation

Chittenden County$11,728Vermont avg$13,783National avg$15,647
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

Population: 168,323 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate) - the denominator behind the per-capita figures above.

Leading Federal Agencies in Chittenden County

Top awarding agencies in Chittenden County, FY2025

Social Security Administrati…$885.4MDepartment of Defense$673.4MDepartment of Transportation$105.0M
Source: USASpending.gov FY2025, aggregated by awarding agency.

Among the 3,224 US counties with agency-level spending data, Social Security Administration is the most common leading agency nationally, topping 89.7% of agency-tracked counties.

These 3 agencies together account for $1.7B (84.3%) of Chittenden County's $2.0B in total tracked federal spending -- the remainder is spread across smaller awarding agencies not individually broken out in this dataset.

All 3 individually-tracked agencies are shown above - Chittenden County has no smaller residual awarding agencies broken out beyond this set, a compact agency footprint rather than a long tail of minor awardees.

Read the agency breakdown as a table
Agency Spending Share
Social Security Administration $885.4M 53.2%
Department of Defense $673.4M 40.5%
Department of Transportation $105.0M 6.3%

How Chittenden County Ranks Nationally

Per-capita federal spending vs. all US counties

All 3,232 US counties, FY2025

$11,728 Top 16% higher than 84% of 3,224 US counties

all US counties, per-capita spending, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $1K-wide band; taller bars hold more US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USASpending.gov FY2025 + U.S. Census Bureau population estimates

Chittenden County Among Vermont's Largest Counties

Population vs. per-capita spending: Vermont's biggest counties

The 14 largest-population counties in Vermont by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Chittenden County is highlighted. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 14 entities by Population (X) and Spending per capita ($) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Large and spending-intensiveSmall population, outsized spendingLarge population, modest per-residentSmaller footprint both ways 050,000100,000150,000200,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Population Spending per capita ($)
The 14 largest-population counties in Vermont by FY2025 federal spending, plotted by population against spending per resident. Bubble size tracks total spending; Chittenden County is highlighted.
Read the chart as a table
County Population Per capita Total spending
Chittenden County (this county) 168,323 $11,728 $2.0B
Rutland County 60,572 $8,579 $519.6M
Washington County 59,807 $16,272 $973.2M
Windsor County 57,753 $9,687 $559.5M
Franklin County 49,946 $6,713 $335.3M
Windham County 45,905 $8,002 $367.3M
Addison County 37,363 $8,304 $310.3M
Bennington County 37,347 $8,829 $329.7M
Caledonia County 30,233 $8,170 $247.0M
Orange County 29,277 $10,071 $294.8M
Orleans County 27,393 $8,528 $233.6M
Lamoille County 25,945 $7,205 $186.9M
Grand Isle County 7,293 $10,349 $75.5M
Essex County 5,920 $10,206 $60.4M

Nearby Counties With Similar Federal Spending

Counties with per-capita federal spending closest to Chittenden County's $11,728 - prioritizing Vermont peers first.

Grand Isle County

Vermont

$10,349 per capita

$75.5M total

Essex County

Vermont

$10,206 per capita

$60.4M total

Orange County

Vermont

$10,071 per capita

$294.8M total

Windsor County

Vermont

$9,687 per capita

$559.5M total

Bennington County

Vermont

$8,829 per capita

$329.7M total

Compare states side-by-side in the compare tool →

Nationwide counties with similar per-capita or total federal spending

Two peer sets outside Vermont - per-resident intensity and total obligation volume, distinct from the same-state neighbors above.

Similar per-capita spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by federal spending per resident ($11,728 here).

Similar total federal spending

Nearest out-of-state counties by total obligations ($2.0B here).

Counties with fewer than 10,000 residents are excluded from the nationwide comparison corpus.

Data Source: USASpending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), Fiscal Year 2025. Population denominators are U.S. Census Bureau vintage estimates. County-level spending includes all federal awards with place of performance in this county; OMB budget categorizations are reflected at the agency level.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and presented.

Verify with USASpending.gov → Verify population with U.S. Census Bureau →