The county is named for Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its constitution as an independent republic and later U.S. state, Thomas Chittenden.

The Vermont Army National Guard is based at Camp Johnson in the town of Colchester.

[3] The town of Underhill in Chittenden County is home to the highest summit within the state, Mount Mansfield, which has a peak elevation of 4,393 feet (1,339 m) above sea level.

[9] In 2008, about 29% of the population lived alone; 59% of households consisted of families, and 38% of men and 35% of women, age 15 or older, have never married.

About 6% of the population were born in a foreign country, and 8% of residents speak a language other than English at home.

From William Henry Harrison in 1836 to Winfield Scott in 1852, the county voted for the Whig Party candidates.

From John C. Frémont in 1856 to Calvin Coolidge in 1924, the Republican Party had a 68-year winning streak in the county.

The county went to Democratic candidates John F. Kennedy in 1960, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968.

Incumbent President Richard Nixon carried the county in 1972, as did Gerald Ford in 1976.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan became the last Republican presidential candidate to win Chittenden County.

In gubernatorial elections, Chittenden County is slightly more competitive, as Vermont Republicans are generally far more moderate than at the nationwide level.

More recently, incumbent Republican governor Phil Scott won over 69% of the county's votes in the 2024 Vermont gubernatorial election.

[19] Essex Junction is home to GlobalFoundries' Burlington Design Center and 200 mm wafer fabrication plant.

"[23] Several school districts are within the county, including Burlington, Winooski, and Chittenden East.

[25] School districts include:[26] Chittenden County is home to the University of Vermont and Champlain College, which are located in the city of Burlington.

Saint Michael's College, the Vermont Center of Southern New Hampshire University, and a branch campus of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Vermont's first pharmacy school) are in the town of Colchester.

In the first national survey by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin in 2010, Vermont ranked the highest in the country for health outcomes.

[28] Interstate 89 crosses Chittenden County initially from east to west, then makes a northward turn in South Burlington to run north along the Lake Champlain shoreline.

The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization measures traffic, analyzes road conditions, and allocates federal and state funds accordingly.

In Vermont, gores and grants are unincorporated portions of a county which are not part of any town and have limited self-government (if any, as many are uninhabited).