Central Vermont holds two resort hubs. Killington, the largest ski area in the eastern US and nicknamed the Beast of the East, sits in the Rutland County town of Killington, home to 1,407 people at the 2020 census and numerous vacation lodges. The resort's mountains separate the town from Rutland, the county seat and third largest city in Vermont with 15,807 residents. Rutland's major employers include Rutland Regional Medical Center and GE Aircraft Engines. Pico, one of the first commercial ski resorts in the state, sits on US Route 4 and shares lift tickets with Killington. Okemo sits in Ludlow, a former mill town of 2,172 that became a ski destination. In the Mad River Valley, Sugarbush in Warren, a town of 1,977, is one of the largest resorts in New England. Mad River Glen in Fayston is a skier owned cooperative that keeps narrow, lightly groomed trails and a single chairlift, and it bans snowboarding. The economy of neighboring Waitsfield, population 1,844, is largely supported by these two resorts.