Colchester is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Chittenden County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, 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 and is part of its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

. The town is directly to Burlington's north on the eastern shore of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

, to the west of the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont and are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Que ...

. The

Vermont National Guard The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era Flag of the Green Mo ...

is based in the town, and it is also home to

Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's College (St. Mikes) is a private Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund, it grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 40 majors to abou ...

and the Vermont campus of

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with ...

History

Chartered June 7, 1763, the town was named for the Earl of Colchester. Winooski Falls separated from the town of Colchester in 1922, causing Colchester to lose a large percentage of its population to the newly founded city of Winooski.

Geography

Colchester is located on the shore of Malletts Bay, part of Lake Champlain. The westernmost part of the town touches the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state border in the middle of the lake. To the northwest, across the eastern arm of the lake, lies the town of South Hero in Grand Isle County. Chittenden County communities bordering Colchester are Milton to the northeast, Westford touching the easternmost point of Colchester,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

to the southeast, and the cities of South Burlington, Winooski, and Burlington to the south. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Colchester has a total area of , of which is land and , or 38.0%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 17,067 people, 6,576 households, and 4,184 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 470 people per square mile. There were 6,727 housing units at an average density of 182.4 per square mile (70.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.25% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 1.7% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 6.1% spoke a language other than English at home. As of the 2000 census, 34.1% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

Economy

One measure of economic activity is retail sales. Colchester was fourth in the state in 2007 with $245.8 million. Major employers in the town include the VNA of Chittenden & Grand Isle Counties, Saint Michael's College, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Green Mountain Power, Shaw's Supermarket, and Champlain Cable Corporation.

Personal income

In 2014, the median household income for Colchester was $68,440; the per capita income was $30,877. Males had a median income of $38,268 versus $30,880 for females. About 5.4% of families, 8.2% of those under age 18, and 9.7% of those age 65 or over (total of 10.6% of the population) were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. In 2011, the median home value was $246,269.

Tourism

There has been an annual "Lake Champlain International Father's Day Fishing Derby" (LCI) since 1981. In 2009, 6,000 fishermen entered. The lakeshore areas of Colchester get an influx of vacationers every summer from southern New England and the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area. Traffic, especially around the Fourth of July holiday, increases by a substantial margin. Niquette Bay State Park offers hiking and swimming in Lake Champlain.

Government

Elected officials

In the Vermont state legislature, Colchester residents were represented by Senator Richard Mazza (D) and Representatives Curt Taylor (D), Seth Chase (D), Sarita Austin (D), and Patrick Brennan (R) as of June 2021.

Education

is located here. *

– Vermont Center, home of the field-based graduate program in education.

Public school system

Around 2,200 children attend the five schools in Colchester's school district. The district consists of one high school, Colchester High School; one middle school, Colchester Middle School; and three elementary schools: Malletts Bay School, Porters Point School, and Union Memorial School.

Media

Radio

* WVTX – 88.7 FM *

WVMT WVMT (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Champlain Valley of Vermont and New York. WVMT is simulcast on FM translator station W242BK at 96.3 MHz. The translator's owner, Vox AM/FM, LLC, o ...

– 620 AM *

WXXX WXXX (95.5 FM, ''95 Triple X'') is a commercial radio station licensed to South Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Champlain Valley. The station is owned by Sison Broadcasting, and airs a top 40–contemporary hit radio format. WXXX's studios ...

"95 Triple X" – 95.5 FM

Television

* WFFF-TV – "Fox 44" * WVNY – "ABC 22"

Infrastructure

Transportation

Interstate 89 passes through the area, with exits 16 and 17 serving Colchester. Exit 16 connects to the concurrency of US Routes 2 and 7 (Roosevelt Highway), just north of Winooski. Exit 17 connects to US 2, which goes west to the Champlain Islands, and also to US 7, which heads north toward the town of Milton. In the southeastern part of Colchester, and also along the US Route 7 corridor, bus service is provided by Green Mountain Transit. Vermont Translines provides scheduled bus service to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

via Burlington, as well as

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

and

Lebanon, New Hampshire Lebanon ( ) is the only city in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,282 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 13,151 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Lebanon is in western New Hampshi ...

via a transfer at

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

Notable people

* Alfred Elisha Ames, physician and politician * Tom Brennan, former men's basketball coach at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

* Ray Collins, pitcher with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1909–1915) * Roger Enos, Major General and commander of the Vermont Militia in the later stages of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

* Mat Fraser,

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

athlete * Donato Giancola, science fiction and fantasy illustrator * Richard Tarrant, American businessman and politician *

Lucy Wheelock Lucy Wheelock (February 1, 1857October 1, 1946) was an American early childhood education pioneer in the American kindergarten movement. She began her career by teaching the kindergarten program at Chauncy-Hall School (1879–89). Wheelock was th ...

, founder and first president of

Wheelock College Wheelock College was a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The college was founded in 1888 as the Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School and was merged into Boston University as part of the university's Boston Univer ...

and pioneer in early childhood education

References

External links

Town of Colchester official website
* {{Authority control Towns in Vermont Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Towns in Chittenden County, Vermont