Chittenden County /ˈtʃɪtəndən/ is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,545. The county's population estimate for 2015 was 161,382. Its shire town (seat) is Vermont's most populous municipality, the city of Burlington. The county has over a quarter of the state's total population and more than twice the population when compared to Vermont's second most populous county of Rutland. The county also has more than twice the population density when compared to Vermont's second most dense county of Washington. The county is named for Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its Constitution as a Republic and state, Thomas Chittenden.