Chittenden County, VT
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.46, -73.07.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 93rd pct · 189th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Vermont counties · median $371,639
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 19th pct · 2,479th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 15th pct · 12th of 14 Vermont counties · median +1.0%
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 95th pct · 58th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 9 Vermont counties · median $1,741
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 90th pct · 296th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Vermont counties · median 15,575
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 93rd pct · 216th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Vermont counties · median $1,183
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 516th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 69th pct · 5th of 14 Vermont counties · median 5.8
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $503,727 (Sep 2026), -0.3% over one year, +20.1% over five
- 93rd pct · 189th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Vermont counties · median $371,639
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County, VT | $503,727 · -0.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,651/mo (Sep 2026), +1.3% over one year; price-to-rent 15.8
- 95th pct · 58th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 9 Vermont counties · median $1,741
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County, VT | $2,651/mo · +1.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $2,790 a month on $503,727 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,591 a month: 42.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $503,727 × 80% = $402,981, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,790/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,521 × 52 / 12 = $6,591) = 42% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $503,727 / ($1,521 × 52) = 6.4
- price-to-rent = $503,727 / ($2,651 × 12) = 15.8
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
100,706 jobs at 9,440 employers (2026 Q1); -1.7% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 90th pct · 296th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Vermont counties · median 15,575
- counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Burlington-South Burlington metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County, VT | 100,706 jobs · $1,521/wk · -1.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 17,824 | $1,484 | 1.18 | +0.1% |
| Retail trade | 10,417 | $838 | 1.06 | -3.6% |
| Manufacturing | 9,524 | $1,768 | 1.18 | +3.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 7,693 | $591 | 0.85 | -2.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 7,669 | $2,749 | 1.10 | -5.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,929 | $1,430 | 0.86 | -6.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,495 | $2,205 | 0.91 | -0.5% |
| Educational services | 2,908 | $803 | 1.34 | -5.2% |
| Other services | 2,887 | $1,060 | 0.96 | -5.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 2,756 | $3,336 | 0.67 | -2.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,348 | $1,204 | 0.55 | -4.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,693 | $598 | 1.02 | +3.7% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D0 abnormally dry
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$7.3 bn in deposits at 55 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,017, highly concentrated. $1.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.0 bn, contracts $274.2 m), $15,127 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $2.3 bn · 31.4% share · 8 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2.0 bn · 27.4% share · 6 offices | |
| KeyBank National Association | $830.6 m · 11.4% share · 6 offices | |
| Chittenden, VT | $1.5 bn FY2026 · $15,127/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $913.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $2,285,032,000 | 31.4% | 8 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $1,995,611,000 | 27.4% | 6 |
| KeyBank National Association | $830,623,000 | 11.4% | 6 |
| Community Bank, National Association | $598,879,000 | 8.2% | 9 |
| Northfield Savings Bank | $380,107,000 | 5.2% | 6 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $373,528,000 | 5.1% | 4 |
| Business Bank, The | $282,056,000 | 3.9% | 1 |
| Mascoma Bank | $163,367,000 | 2.2% | 3 |
| NBT Bank, National Association | $148,901,000 | 2.0% | 4 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $130,999,000 | 1.8% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 2,017 across 12 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 12 banks with deposits in the county = 31.4² + 27.4² + 11.4² + … (9 more) = 2,017
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $856,966,403 |
| Department of Defense | $208,554,579 |
| Department of Transportation | $116,660,731 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $101,997,628 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $66,447,595 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $53,688,564 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $49,999,344 |
| Department of Education | $29,947,409 |
| National Science Foundation | $16,459,812 |
| Department of Agriculture | $11,478,429 |
| General Services Administration | $3,084,501 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $2,810,718 |
That is $15,127 per covered job, against 100,706 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.5 bn / 100,706 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,127
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Chittenden County, VT: 16 findings, 2 at a watch level and 14 noted
watchChittenden County, VT's covered employment is -1.7% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -1.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchChittenden County, VT's typical home value is -0.3% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -0.2908514172373009 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteChittenden County, VT's average weekly wage was 3.4% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.4 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteChittenden County, VT's covered employment was 1.7% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -1.7 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteChittenden County, VT's typical asking rent rose 0.6% from $2,635 in August 2026 to $2,651 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (2650.9158312655086 - 2635.4544484008843) / 2635.4544484008843 × 100
- 2650.9158312655086 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 2635.4544484008843 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.