Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns are jointly Bennington and Manchester, and the largest municipality is Bennington. The county was created in 1778.
Northumberland is a town located in western Coös County, New Hampshire, United States, north of Lancaster. It is part of the Berlin, NH–VT micropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,126, of whom 1,068 lived in the village of Groveton.
Lebanon is the only city in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,282 at the 2020 census, up from 13,151 at the 2010 census. Lebanon is in western New Hampshire, south of Hanover, near the Connecticut River. It is the home to Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, together comprising the largest medical facility between Boston, Massachusetts, and Burlington, Vermont.
Goshen is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 172 at the 2020 census.
Waterford is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,268 at the 2020 census.
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the third-most populous municipality and most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester borders Burlington, Vermont's most populous municipality. The town is directly to Burlington's north on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, to the west of the Green Mountains. The Vermont National Guard is based in the town, and it is also home to Saint Michael's College and the Vermont campus of Southern New Hampshire University.
Shelburne is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the city center of Burlington, the largest city in the state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shelburne was 7,717.
Bloomfield is a town in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 217 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Berlin, New Hampshire-Vermont Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Canaan is a town in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 896 at the 2020 census. Canaan contains the village of Beecher Falls, located at the confluence of the Connecticut River and Halls Stream. It is part of the Berlin, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Lunenburg is a town in Essex County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,246 at the 2020 census, the most populous in Essex County. Lunenburg contains the villages of Lunenburg and Gilman and hamlets of West Lunenburg, South Lunenburg, and Mill Village, and is part of the Berlin, NH–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Vernon is a town in Windham County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 2,192 at the 2020 census. Vernon is the site of the now-defunct Vermont Yankee, the state of Vermont's only nuclear power plant, which closed in December 2014.
Hartford is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It is on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White and Connecticut rivers; the Ottauquechee River also flows through the town. The town is composed of five unincorporated villages: Hartford, Quechee, West Hartford, White River Junction and Wilder. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,686.
Weathersfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,842 at the 2020 census.
Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns of, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census.
Jericho is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,104. The town was named after the ancient city of Jericho.
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about 10 miles (16 km) north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River and Connecticut. With a 2022 Census population of 12,106, it is the most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River.
Westminster is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,016 at the 2020 census. It is also the first capital of the Republic of Vermont. It borders the state of New Hampshire.
Rutland is the only city in and the seat of Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 15,807. It is located approximately 65 miles (105 km) north of the Massachusetts state line, 35 miles (56 km) west of New Hampshire state line, and 20 miles (32 km) east of the New York state line. Rutland is the third largest city in the state of Vermont after Burlington and South Burlington. Rutland City is completely surrounded by Rutland Town, which is a separate municipality. The downtown area of the city is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
The town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlay the entire area of a state, similar to civil townships in other states where they exist, but they are fully functioning municipal corporations, possessing powers similar to cities and counties in other states. New Jersey's system of equally powerful townships, boroughs, towns, and cities is the system which is most similar to that of New England. New England towns are often governed by a town meeting, an assembly of eligible town residents. The great majority of municipal corporations in New England are based on the town model; there, statutory forms based on the concept of a compact populated place are uncommon, though elsewhere in the U.S. they are prevalent. County government in New England states is typically weak at best, and in some states nonexistent. Connecticut, for example, has no county governments, nor does Rhode Island. Both of those states retain counties only as geographic subdivisions with no governmental authority, while Massachusetts has abolished eight of fourteen county governments so far. Counties serve mostly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems and some other state services in the southern New England states, while providing varying services in the more sparsely populated three northern New England states.
