Editing Orleans County, Vermont (section)

===Business and industry===
There were 838 private non-farm establishments, employing 7,392 people. In 2002, there was $238 million manufacturer's shipments. That year, the county had $240 million in retail sales. Retail sales per capita were $9,000. 24% of firms were owned by women.

In 2003, there were 194 dairy farms in the county.<ref>[http://www.vermontdairy.com/files/downloads/vermont-dairy-stats.xls Welcome to Vermont Dairy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144626/http://www.vermontdairy.com/files/downloads/vermont-dairy-stats.xls |date=April 13, 2014 }}. Vermontdairy.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.</ref> This was the third largest number in the state. In March 2010, the number of dairy farms had declined to 139.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Bethany M. | last=Dunbar | title=Dairy farm crisis deepens | publisher=the Chronicle | location=Barton, Vermont | pages= 1A | date=May 5, 2010 }}</ref> In March 2007 county farms produced {{convert|29585000|lb}} of milk.<ref>{{cite book | author = Dunbar, Bethany |title = Higher milk prices help farmers catch up | publisher = the Chronicle | date = August 29, 2007}}</ref> The total number of farms increased between 1992 and 2007. Total area farmed decreased from {{convert|149503|acre}} in 1992 to {{convert|130308|acre}} in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Richard | last=Creaser | title=Watershed association seeks to combat farm runoff | publisher=the Chronicle | location=Barton, Vermont | page= 16 | date=August 18, 2010 }}</ref>

For forest products, from 1988 to 2004, Orleans County showed the greatest employment increase in the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund |work=Forest and Forest Products Trends |url=http://www.vsjf.org/sd-projects/documents/Forest_Trends_001.pdf |access-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705001108/http://www.vsjf.org/sd-projects/documents/Forest_Trends_001.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Retail====
Many of the county's retail shops are concentrated both in downtown Newport and along the Newport-Derby Road ([[U.S. Route 5]] and [[Vermont Route 105]]), one of the two state-maintained roads connecting Newport city to Interstate 91. The villages of Barton and Orleans also have a smaller concentration of stores.

There are seven pharmacies in the county, all but one of which is a regional or national chain.

There are two regional chain supermarkets in the county and there are locally owned grocery stores in several other towns as well.

Many of the smaller towns still feature a general store in the center of town.