The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Essex County is a county of Vermont with 5,982 residents. Its economy produced $183 million in 2024 (ranked #14 of 14 counties) and had 1,069 jobs with an average annual pay of $49,646 (#14 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.0% in 2026M09.
Essex County produced about $183 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 0.4% of the combined output of the 14 counties of Vermont that BEA reports (about 0.9% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 14th of 14 on that measure. Per resident that is $30,572, 57% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $71,512. In current dollars output grew 2.1% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 1,069 jobs located in Essex County on average in 2024, spread over 180 employer sites (about 6 jobs per site). That is 0.18 jobs for every resident, below the 0.41 of the typical county in Vermont, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $49,646, 23% below the average of all counties in the state ($49,646 against $64,611). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs fell 0.6% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are manufacturing (34.4% of private jobs, $45,977 a year on average), agriculture, forestry, fishing (28.5% of private jobs, $58,290 a year on average), retail trade (18.5% of private jobs, $24,191 a year on average). Together they hold 81.5% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is professional and technical services at $102,798 a year, followed by agriculture, forestry, fishing ($58,290). Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($24,191). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Essex County was 3.0%, 17% above the average of the state's counties (3.0% against 2.6%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 2,692. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 2.8% (2026M05) to 4.9% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $59,294 (ACS 2020–2024), 27% below the state median ($59,294 against $81,203). None of the largest places of the guide has this as its main county, which usually means a smaller or more rural county; the figures above still describe the whole county.
Counties close to Essex County in output are Orange County, Grand Isle County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 14 counties of Vermont ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,982 | 14 of 14 |
| GDP 2024 | $183 million | 14 of 14 |
| GDP per resident | $30,572 | 14 of 14 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 1,069 | 14 of 14 |
| Average annual pay | $49,646 | 14 of 14 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -0.6% | 13 of 14 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.0% | 12 of 14 |
| Median household income | $59,294 | 14 of 14 |
Federal jobs in Vermont (113) →All cities of VermontState guide: Vermont
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
None of the 30 largest places of Vermont has this as its main county, so the guide has no city page here. County figures on the other tabs are complete.
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 128 | 34.4% | $45,977 | 1.46 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 106 | 28.5% | $58,290 | 12.25 |
| Retail trade | 69 | 18.5% | $24,191 | 0.65 |
| Professional and technical services | 38 | 10.2% | $102,798 | 0.51 |
| Administrative and waste services | 16 | 4.3% | $50,877 | 0.25 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 15 | 4.0% | $40,463 | 0.33 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 2,692 |
| Employed residents | 2,611 |
| Unemployed residents | 81 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 1,069 |
| Employer sites | 180 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County | 169,758 | $16,404 million | $96,629 | 103,301 | $73,186 | 2.2% |
| Rutland County | 60,425 | $3,787 million | $62,674 | 25,313 | $58,753 | 2.9% |
| Washington County | 60,017 | $5,191 million | $86,495 | 33,484 | $67,784 | 2.5% |
| Windsor County | 57,990 | $3,759 million | $64,826 | 23,153 | $62,855 | 2.6% |
| Franklin County | 50,638 | $2,856 million | $56,405 | 17,250 | $62,487 | 2.8% |
| Windham County | 45,923 | $3,098 million | $67,455 | 20,831 | $56,758 | 2.8% |
| Addison County | 37,664 | $2,305 million | $61,211 | 15,525 | $60,042 | 2.3% |
| Bennington County | 37,269 | $2,383 million | $63,928 | 16,750 | $58,906 | 3.1% |
| Caledonia County | 30,475 | $1,641 million | $53,841 | 11,117 | $55,371 | 2.3% |
| Orange County | 29,761 | $1,188 million | $39,919 | 7,898 | $55,315 | 2.4% |
| Orleans County | 27,606 | $1,563 million | $56,605 | 10,532 | $51,363 | 3.3% |
| Lamoille County | 26,148 | $1,654 million | $63,247 | 12,436 | $57,777 | 2.6% |
| Grand Isle County | 7,450 | $265 million | $35,565 | 1,383 | $50,181 | 2.9% |
| Essex County | 5,982 | $183 million | $30,572 | 1,069 | $49,646 | 3.0% |
5,982 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$183 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.0% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
1,069 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $49,646 (BLS QCEW).