Vermont County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 14 counties in Vermont, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 28.4.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Vermont Snapshot
14 Counties Scored
28.4 Mean Score
30.3 Median Score
39.2 Orleans County Most Distressed
19.3 Addison County Least Distressed
8 low-moderate county distress4 low county distress2 very low county distress
Score Label Distribution Vermont County Map
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Low county distress Moderate-low county distress Moderate county distress High county distress Extreme county distress
All 14 Vermont counties colored by county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,186 | Orleans County | 39.2 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | 2,330 | Bennington County | 36.3 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | 2,406 | Rutland County | 34.8 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 4 | 2,536 | Caledonia County | 32.0 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 2,569 | Essex County | 31.3 | low-moderate county distress | Safety Net & Buffer |
| 6 | 2,574 | Grand Isle County | 31.1 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | 2,593 | Franklin County | 30.7 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 2,623 | Windham County | 30.0 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 2,823 | Orange County | 24.6 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | 2,869 | Lamoille County | 23.2 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | 2,887 | Windsor County | 22.8 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 2,893 | Chittenden County | 22.5 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 2,980 | Washington County | 19.8 | very low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 3,001 | Addison County | 19.3 | very low county distress | 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.
extreme county distress — 0 Vermont counties
very high county distress — 0 Vermont counties
high county distress — 0 Vermont counties
moderate-high county distress — 0 Vermont counties
moderate county distress — 0 Vermont counties
moderate-low county distress — 0 Vermont counties
low-moderate county distress — 8 Vermont counties
low county distress — 4 Vermont counties
very low county distress — 2 Vermont counties
exceptionally low county distress — 0 Vermont counties