Where does Vermont rank for food access among U.S. states?

Vermont ranks #49 of 50 in the lower third on low-access (11.2%), same basis as the national cartogram.

What share of Vermont has low food access?

11.2% of Vermont residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted) (-10.9 pts vs U.S.), per USDA FARA 2019.

How many food deserts are in Vermont?

12 census tracts in Vermont are USDA food deserts (~19K low-income low-access residents); ~0.86 tracts per county.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Vermont?

Across Vermont, 10.6% of households receive SNAP (ACS 2024) (-1.5 pts vs U.S.) - mid tercile among states.

Which county in Vermont has the worst food access?

Essex County has the highest low-access share at 28.2% (~2.5% of statewide low-access residents), with 18.8% SNAP.

Signature · 11.2% low-access (#49 of 50)

Food access in Vermont

Vermont lands in the lower third on population-weighted low-access (11.2%), so distance is less binding statewide than in the upper band - county pages still show local pockets.

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · December 31, 2024

11.2%
low-access pop.: 12
food-desert tracts: 10.6%
on SNAP: 14
counties

USDA FARA state access plate

State VT · Vermont

LA-MODERATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-LIGHT · VEH-OK · BOOK-THIN

LA-MODERATE 11.2% low-access
BELOW-NATIONAL -10.9 pts vs US
LILA-CLUSTER 12 food-desert tracts
SNAP-LIGHT 10.6% SNAP
VEH-OK 6.2% no vehicle
BOOK-THIN 14 counties

Nearest low-access peer: New York (+ 0.8 pts)

Vermont's slim county book (14)

Vermont covers 14 counties among 51 states and DC (atlas inventory, not a food-access quality ranking). Orthogonal to the low-access / SNAP charts below.

Vermont vs all states by county count

Where this state's county inventory sits among every tracked jurisdiction

14 45th of 51 higher than 6 of 51 states

Jurisdictions, banded by county inventory

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USDA Food Access Research Atlas / Census county inventory · 2026-06-23

Lower-band statewide picture

Vermont stays in the lower third nationally (11.2%, #49 of 50) with ~70K low-access residents and 12 LILA tracts.

#49
among states by low-access: 70K
low-access residents: 19K
food-desert residents: 6.2%
households, no vehicle

Population-weighted tract shares. Lower-band statewide means still leave county outliers on the table below.

Vermont on the national low-access cartogram

Vermont ringed at #49 of 50 by population-weighted low-access. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

Signature read: 11.2% low-access (#49 of 50) (-10.9 pts vs U.S. low-access).

Vermont lands in the lower third of states on population-weighted low-access (11.2% , #49 of 50). Distance is less binding statewide than in the upper band, yet Essex County still reaches 28.2% locally while SNAP sits at 10.6% on a slim 14-unit atlas book.

States near Vermont's lower low-access or SNAP band

Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Vermont. Neighbourhood chart below is local poles; these panels are full-corpus nearest neighbours excluding this state.

Similar low-access share

Nearest population-weighted low-access rates (11.2% here).

New York · 12.0% low-access
California · 13.3% low-access
Maine · 13.4% low-access
Oregon · 16.9% low-access

Similar SNAP participation

Nearest household SNAP rates (10.6% here), deduped against the low-access panel.

Alaska · 10.7% SNAP
South Carolina · 10.5% SNAP
Arizona · 10.4% SNAP
Tennessee · 10.8% SNAP

Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Floor county_count ≥ 5.

NM

31.7
OR

16.9
ME

13.4
CA

13.3
NY

12
VT

11.2
DC

4.6

Essex

28.2
Rutland

18.1
Washington

17.7
Chittenden

13.9
Orleans

10.1
Orange

9.8
Franklin

9.2
Windham

9.2

All counties in Vermont

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Essex County	6K	28.2%	18.8%	4.2%	13.8%
Rutland County	60K	18.1%	10.7%	6.4%	11.8%
Washington County	60K	17.7%	10.1%	6.0%	8.7%
Chittenden County	170K	13.9%	7.8%	7.1%	9.7%
Orleans County	28K	10.1%	14.4%	6.4%	11.7%
Orange County	30K	9.8%	9.7%	3.9%	9.3%
Franklin County	51K	9.2%	12.3%	5.8%	10.3%
Windham County	46K	9.2%	13.3%	6.2%	11.6%
Bennington County	37K	8.2%	15.4%	7.5%	11.3%
Addison County	38K	6.2%	8.7%	4.9%	7.6%
Caledonia County	30K	5.8%	14.9%	6.7%	11.7%
Windsor County	58K	5.2%	9.6%	6.1%	9.2%
Grand Isle County	7K	2.7%	9.0%	1.4%	7.9%
Lamoille County	26K	0.9%	10.4%	4.7%	8.5%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

Figures from USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and Census ACS 2024 5-year. Compiled 2026-06-23. Methodology · All states.

PlainFoodAccess renders this state summary directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Statewide figures for Vermont are population-weighted aggregates of county Atlas and ACS records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.