Bennington County, Vermont

Bennington County, Vermont
Bennington County courthouse in Manchester
Location within the U.S. state of Vermont
Coordinates: 43°01′46″N 73°06′29″W / 43.029419°N 73.107956°W / 43.029419; -73.107956
Country United States
State Vermont
Founded1778
Named afterBenning Wentworth
Shire TownBennington & Manchester
Largest townBennington
Area
 • Total
678 sq mi (1,760 km2)
 • Land675 sq mi (1,750 km2)
 • Water2.7 sq mi (7.0 km2)  0.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
37,347
 • Estimate 
(2024)
37,039
 • Density55.3/sq mi (21.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districtAt-large
Websitehttps://benningtonvt.org/

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 (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipality is Bennington. Bennington is the only county in Vermont with two shire towns, and thus the only county in the United States to have two "shire towns" within its boundaries (as every US state except for Vermont refers to their seats of government as county/parish/borough seats) The county was created in 1778.