| Washington County, Vermont | |
Location in the state of Vermont |
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Vermont's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | January 15, 1777, from New York's Gloucester County |
|---|---|
| Shire Town | Montpelier |
| Largest city | Barre |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
695 sq mi (1,800 km²) 689 sq mi (1,785 km²) 6 sq mi (16 km²), 0.90% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
59,534 86/sq mi (33.35/km²) |
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 59,534; Vermont's third-most populous county after Chittenden County and Rutland County. Its shire town is Montpelier, the state capital.[1] The center of population of Vermont is located in Washington County, in the town of Warren.[2]
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 695 square miles (1,800.0 km2), of which 689 square miles (1,784.5 km2) is land and 6 square miles (15.5 km2) (0.90%) is water.
Washington County is one of only two counties in Vermont that does not border a neighboring state or Canada; the other being Lamoille County to the north.
Interstate 89 passes through the county, and has five exits within it.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1820 | 14,113 |
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| 1830 | 21,378 | 51.5% | |
| 1840 | 23,506 | 10.0% | |
| 1850 | 24,654 | 4.9% | |
| 1860 | 27,612 | 12.0% | |
| 1870 | 26,520 | −4.0% | |
| 1880 | 25,404 | −4.2% | |
| 1890 | 29,606 | 16.5% | |
| 1900 | 36,607 | 23.6% | |
| 1910 | 41,702 | 13.9% | |
| 1920 | 38,921 | −6.7% | |
| 1930 | 41,733 | 7.2% | |
| 1940 | 41,546 | −0.4% | |
| 1950 | 42,870 | 3.2% | |
| 1960 | 42,860 | 0% | |
| 1970 | 47,659 | 11.2% | |
| 1980 | 52,393 | 9.9% | |
| 1990 | 54,928 | 4.8% | |
| 2000 | 58,039 | 5.7% | |
| 2010 | 59,534 | 2.6% | |
| [3][4][5] | |||
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 58,039 people, 23,659 households, and 15,047 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile (33/km²). There were 27,644 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.05% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.7% were of English, 12.2% Irish, 12.1% French, 9.1% French Canadian, 8.7% American, 7.3% Italian, 6.4% German and 5.2% Scottish ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.3% spoke English, 2.7% French and 1.1% Spanish as their first language.
There were 23,659 households out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.40% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.50% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,972, and the median income for a family was $51,075. Males had a median income of $33,181 versus $26,369 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,113. About 5.50% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Democrat | Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 69.3% 22,324 | 28.4% 9,129 |
| 2004 | 61.0% 19,177 | 36.4% 11,461 |
| 2000 | 51.4% 15,281 | 38.5% 11,448 |
Washington County is one of several Vermont counties created from land ceded by the state of New York on January 15, 1777 when Vermont declared itself to be a distinct state from New York.[8][9][10] The land originally was contested by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Netherlands, but it remained undelineated until July 20, 1764 when King George III established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts and south of the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude. New York assigned the land gained to Albany County.[11][12] On March 12, 1772 Albany County was partitioned to create Charlotte County,[13] and this situation remained until Vermont's independence from New York and Britain.
Washington County was originally established as Jefferson County in 1810 from parts of Caledonia County, Chittenden County, and Orange County. In 1814, it was renamed Washington County.
| Chittenden County | Lamoille County | Caledonia County | ||
| Washington County, Vermont | ||||
| Addison County | Orange County |
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