Vermont County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 14 counties in Vermont, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 33.7.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Vermont Snapshot
14 Counties Scored
33.7 Mean Score
35.3 Median Score
51.6 Orleans County Most Distressed
20.6 Addison County Least Distressed
1 Middle fifth7 Second-least distressed fifth6 Least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Vermont County Map
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Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 14 Vermont counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Vermont's 14 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Vermont Counties
14 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,504 | Orleans County | 51.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 1,904 | Bennington County | 44.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | 1,970 | Essex County | 43.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 2,266 | Rutland County | 38.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 2,285 | Grand Isle County | 37.8 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | 2,369 | Caledonia County | 36.1 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | 2,388 | Windham County | 35.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 2,420 | Franklin County | 34.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 2,685 | Lamoille County | 28.9 | Least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 2,712 | Orange County | 28.2 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | 2,807 | Windsor County | 25.5 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 2,878 | Chittenden County | 23.5 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 2,896 | Washington County | 23.0 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 2,965 | Addison County | 20.6 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 0 Vermont counties
Second-most distressed fifth — 0 Vermont counties
Middle fifth — 1 Vermont county
Second-least distressed fifth — 7 Vermont counties
Least distressed fifth — 6 Vermont counties