The US state of Vermont is located in the northeaster part of the US within the New England area. With a land area of 24,000 km2 or 9,250 square miles, the state ranks 43rd in land area, while ranking 45th in total area. The population of the state of Vermont is 630,337, making the state the 2nd smallest in the union, based on the 2010 census. It is the only state within New England not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain forms fifty percent of Vermont's western border, which it shares along with New York State. The Green Mountains are within the state. It is surrounded by New Hampshire to the east, Massachusetts to the south, New York towards the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec towards the north.
Vermont is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States. Montpelier is the state capital, which with 7,705 inhabitants is the least-inhabited state capital within the nation. Its most populous city is Burlington, that has a metro population of 211,261 people.
Forbes Magazine ranked the state of Vermont, the 32nd leading state in which to do business. The prior year Vermont ranked 30th in the same report. In May 2010, Vermont's 6.2 percent unemployment rate was the fourth lowest in the US. This rate reflects the 2nd sharpest decline among the 50 states since the previous May.
Agriculture contributes $2.6 billion, around 12 percent, directly and indirectly to the state's economy. Then again, one more study claims that agriculture contributes 2.2 percent of the domestic product of the state. In the year 2000, around 3% of the working population of the state engaged in agriculture.
Over the past two centuries, logging has fallen off since over-cutting and the exploitation of other forests made the forests of Vermont less attractive. The decline of farms has resulted in a regrowth of Vermont's forests because of ecological succession. Nowadays, most forests of Vermont are secondary. The state as well as non-profit groups are actively encouraging re-growth and careful forest management. More than 78 percent of the land area of the state is forested. More than 85 percent of that area is private, non-industrial forestland owned by individuals or families.
There were 543 organic farms in 2009. 23% of the vegetable farms were organic, whilst 20% of the dairy farms were organic. Organic farming grew during 2006/2007, but leveled off in 2008-09. Nor are any expected for the year 2010.
The manufacture and sale of fancy foods, artisan foods, and novelty items are an important and growing part of the economy of Vermont. These items are trading in part upon the Vermont "brand" that the state manages and defends. Among the specialty exports include the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Cabot Cheese, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, Fine Paints of Europe, ginseng growers, several micro breweries, Burton Snowboards, Lake Champlain Chocolates, King Arthur Flour, and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.