Essex Junction is a city in

Chittenden County, Vermont Chittenden County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,323. The county seat is Vermont's most populous municipality, the city of Burlington. The county has over a quarte ...

, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 10,590. It was incorporated as a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

on November 15, 1892. Essex Junction became Vermont’s 10th city on July 1, 2022. The city is part of the Essex Westford Unified Union School District which operates K-12 schools including Essex High School. The city is surrounded on three sides by the Town of Essex ("Essex Town"). Essex Junction is home to

GlobalFoundries GlobalFoundries Inc. is a multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company located in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Malta, New York. Created by the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of AMD in March 2009, the ...

' Burlington Design Center and 200 mm wafer fabrication plant. GlobalFoundries is the largest private employer in the state of Vermont, with approximately 3,000 employees.

History

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

(now

), opened a data processing facility here in 1958, employing 500. In 1969, the plant expanded to . In 1982, employment reached an all-time high of 8,000. In 2007, the value of the plant was $104 million. The plant's workforce was slightly over 5,000 in 2011, and in 2015, GlobalFoundries employed about 3,000 employees. In 2003, as a result of the nationally publicized suicide of an Essex Junction teenager, Vermont and other states passed legislation against

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

. On November 2, 2021, voters in the village of Essex Junction voted overwhelmingly to separate from the town of

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 ...

, citing an unfair tax burden. The vote was 3,070-411 in favor of separation.

Geography

Essex Junction is located southwest of Essex and is bordered on the south by the

Winooski River The Winooski River (also known as the Onion River) is a tributary of Lake Champlain, about long, in the northern half of Vermont. Although not Vermont's longest river, it is one of the state's most significant, forming a major valley way fro ...

. The city is east of downtown Burlington via Vermont Route 15. 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 ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.72%, is water.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Essex Junction has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

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 2000, there were 8,591 people, 3,409 households, and 2,253 families residing in the city. 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 1,804.1 people per square mile (696.8/km²). There were 3,501 housing units at an average density of 735.2/sq mi (284.0/km²). There were 3,409 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% 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, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $53,444, and the median income for a family was $61,985. Males had a median income of $40,287 versus $26,910 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $24,142. About 1.8% of families and 2.9% 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 ...

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The largest industrial facility in Vermont is

' semiconductor plant in Essex Junction. In 2007, the then-IBM plant had the largest assessment in the town, $104 million.

Arts and culture

The Champlain Valley Exposition is a former dirt racetrack that has been re-purposed as an event field, with stadium seating for concerts and indoor events. The 10-day Champlain Valley Fair is the state's largest fair, and features agricultural exhibits and events, vendors, a carnival, and entertainment. Attendance has reached almost 300,000 per year, and 2010, the fair had 46 carnival rides and almost 200 vendors.

Education

The Essex Westford School District was consolidated in 2017. The district includes and funds schools in Essex Junction, Essex Town, and Westford. Schools in Essex Junction include: * Essex High School * Summit Street School (K-3) * Thomas Fleming School (4-5) * Albert D. Lawton School (6-9) * Hiawatha School(K-3) * Center for Technology Essex

Infrastructure

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides daily service via its station in Essex Junction, one of two rail stations in Chittenden County. The '' Vermonter'' train runs daily from St. Albans in northern Vermont to

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; passing through Essex Junction. It was formerly called the '' Montrealer''; its terminus being at

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Essex Junction was the nearest Amtrak station to Burlington until the ''

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north–south route with a 7-hour 35 mi ...

'' was extended to serve Burlington directly on July 29, 2022.

Notable people

* Guy W. Bailey, Secretary of State of Vermont and

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 ...

president * Season Hubley, actress * Dewey H. Perry, U.S. Marshal for Vermont *

Loung Ung Loung Ung (; born 19 November 1970) is a Cambodian-American human-rights activism, activist, lecturer and national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World from 1997 to 2003. She has served in the same capacity for the Internation ...

, author * Brian Wood, comic book author and screenwriter

References

External links

City of Essex Junction official website
{{authority control Cities in Vermont e Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area Cities in Chittenden County, Vermont