Chittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,545. The estimate for 2014 is 160,531. Its shire town is Burlington, the most populous city in the state. Home to nearly a quarter of Vermont's total population, Chittenden County is the most populous county in the state, with more than twice as many residents as Vermont's second-most populous county, Rutland County. It is named after Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its constitution as a republic and state, Thomas Chittenden.