Maine Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Maine, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Maine. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Maine. The estimated population of Maine is 1,357,046 people, with a median age of 44.7.

We can look at the total population in Maine over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
1,357,046
+1.21%
+2.02%
2020
1,340,825
+0.4%
-
2019
1,335,492
+0.2%
-
2018
1,332,813
+0.2%
-
2017
1,330,158
 - -

Population of Maine by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
92%
93.6%
 -1.71%
Black/African American
1.4%
1.2%
 +16.67%
Native
0.5%
0.6%
 -16.67%
Hispanic
1.8%
1.5%
 +20.00%
Asian
1.1%
1.1%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.9%
1.9%
 +52.63%
Other
0.2%
0.1%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Maine by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 44.7 -0.22% 43.5 +0.23% 46 -0.43%
2020 44.8 +0.22% 43.4 +0.23% 46.2 +0.43%
2019 44.7 +0.22% 43.3 +0.23% 46 +0.44%
2018 44.6 +0.68% 43.2 +0.47% 45.8 +0.66%
2017 44.3 - 43 - 45.5 -

The median age of Maine gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 70,277 -2.55% 65,975 -1.55% 68,508 64,954
10 to 19 78,649 +0.95% 75,424 -1.11% 79,355 74,554
20 to 29 79,521 -1.64% 76,766 -0.71% 78,219 76,219
30 to 39 73,499 +10.98% 75,831 +8.69% 81,878 82,618
40 to 49 84,529 -5.68% 87,677 -7.71% 79,803 81,105
50 to 59 104,532 -6.23% 108,701 -5.12% 98,137 103,226
60 to 69 88,523 +11.7% 95,934 +7.7% 99,313 103,526
70+ 71,510 +15.32% 92,810 +10.12% 83,095 102,536

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Maine is $63,182.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Maine.

  • Under 25
    $41,563.00
  • 25 to 44
    $74,827.00
  • 45 to 64
    $74,619.00
  • 65 and over
    $45,579.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Maine, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Maine, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Maine is currently $83,914.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

5.81% of households in Maine are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Maine against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    18.43%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    21.48%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.85%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.99%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    15.82%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    6.62%
  • $200,000 or more
    5.81%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Maine is $36,171.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Maine by the total population of Maine.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Maine, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Maine to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    14.19%
  • Bachelor's degree
    33.35%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    9.68%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    41.14%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.64%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Maine that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Maine over the age of 16 is 1,134,793.

Of those people, a total of 62.90% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Maine is 60.00%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 65,118 50.50% 12.60%
20 to 24 years 74,775 79.50% 7.40%
25 to 29 years 79,663 83.80% 5.60%
30 to 34 years 82,588 85.60% 3.50%
35 to 44 years 158,307 84.30% 3.40%
45 to 54 years 179,107 82.60% 2.70%
55 to 59 years 106,765 74.20% 3.20%
60 to 64 years 107,649 61.50% 2.80%
65 to 74 years 171,259 28.70% 4.60%
75 years and over 109,562 6.70% 4.90%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Maine. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 1,065,020 62.60% 4.20%
Black or African American 13,853 72.70% 5.60%
American Indian and Alaska Native 5,822 58.40% 7.90%
Asian 12,606 67.20% 5.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 191 75.40% 13.20%
Other 4,999 70.30% 4.80%
Two or more races 32,302 63.50% 4.80%
Hispanic or Latino 17,814 69.70% 4.30%
Not Hispanic or Latino 1,055,602 62.60% 4.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Maine as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Maine is 681,187, with median earnings of $40,056.00.

Women in Maine earning approximately 76.10% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 681,187 $40,056.00
Male 348,450 $45,361.00
Female 332,737 $34,530.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 72,742 $64,189.00
Business and Financial 33,874 $60,895.00
Computer and Mathematical 15,975 $68,957.00
Architecture and Engineering 12,147 $78,404.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 7,363 $56,109.00
Community and Social Service 15,074 $41,094.00
Legal 6,319 $68,838.00
Educational and Library 48,253 $40,078.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 12,860 $39,328.00
Healthcare Practitioners 46,037 $62,192.00
Healthcare Support 26,918 $27,336.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 5,665 $43,006.00
Law Enforcement 5,999 $65,004.00
Food Preparation and Serving 35,606 $15,592.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 24,487 $23,025.00
Personal Care and Service 17,200 $19,293.00
Sales 64,303 $31,264.00
Office and Administrative Support 75,829 $35,123.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 10,071 $32,022.00
Construction and Extraction 39,774 $40,567.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 22,254 $47,311.00
Production 35,884 $40,503.00
Transportation and Material Moving 24,515 $40,053.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 39,937 $70,516.00 32,805 $58,367.00
Business and Financial 14,636 $71,178.00 19,238 $55,499.00
Computer and Mathematical 11,456 $70,940.00 4,519 $65,293.00
Architecture and Engineering 10,331 $83,003.00 1,816 $59,605.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 3,921 $58,473.00 3,442 $52,137.00
Community and Social Service 4,516 $41,107.00 10,558 $41,087.00
Legal 3,066 $98,684.00 3,253 $59,858.00
Educational and Library 13,665 $46,942.00 34,588 $37,630.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 6,273 $45,764.00 6,587 $31,681.00
Healthcare Practitioners 10,413 $81,176.00 35,624 $57,401.00
Healthcare Support 3,546 $28,968.00 23,372 $27,135.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 4,466 $50,781.00 1,199 $26,607.00
Law Enforcement 5,336 $66,066.00 663 $55,204.00
Food Preparation and Serving 14,454 $17,275.00 21,152 $14,578.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 14,732 $27,447.00 9,755 $17,399.00
Personal Care and Service 3,197 $20,379.00 14,003 $19,139.00
Sales 31,765 $43,019.00 32,538 $24,412.00
Office and Administrative Support 18,799 $41,210.00 57,030 $33,876.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 8,659 $35,340.00 1,412 $20,000.00
Construction and Extraction 38,667 $40,801.00 1,107 $33,802.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 21,395 $47,811.00 859 $39,306.00
Production 26,624 $44,664.00 9,260 $28,596.00
Transportation and Material Moving 21,631 $41,599.00 2,884 $23,983.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 571,064 households in Maine, with an average household size of 2.31 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 348,606 families in Maine with an average family size of 2.87 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 275,284 22,996 50,326 222,458
Average Household Size 2.92 3.22 3.14 1.28
Total Families 275,284 22,996 50,326 0
Average Household Size 2.89 2.73 2.83 0

Poverty

Of the 348,606 families in Maine, 6.60% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Maine:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 737,782 housing units in Maine.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 571,064 77.40%
Vacant 166,718 22.60%

19.05% of the total 737,782 housing units in Maine are rental units. This is approximately 140,580 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 419,024 are occupied by the owner - or 56.80% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Maine is $927.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Maine that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    11,460
  • Less than $500
    21,845
  • $500 to $999
    58,658
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    40,684
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    14,263
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    3,041
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    1,078
  • $3,000 or more
    1,011

Property Value

The median value of a property in Maine is $212,100.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Maine that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    27,446
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    44,871
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    54,921
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    68,494
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    102,995
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    83,320
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    30,530
  • $1,000,000 or more
    6,447

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Maine. The chart below shows the number of properties in Maine that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    174,788
  • 1940 to 1949
    34,332
  • 1950 to 1959
    52,345
  • 1960 to 1969
    51,715
  • 1970 to 1979
    101,516
  • 1980 to 1989
    104,083
  • 1990 to 1999
    86,701
  • 2000 to 2009
    91,908
  • 2010 to 2013
    39,590
  • 2014 or later
    804

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Maine that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    38,978
  • 1 vehicle available
    188,346
  • 2 vehicles available
    228,906
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    114,834

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Maine get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Maine that commute to work in a particular way.

24.3 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Maine.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    28,501
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    75,845
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    89,506
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    87,775
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    80,762
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    40,212
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    68,310
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    20,765
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    21,763
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    45,129
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    26,255
  • 90 or more minutes
    13,126

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Maine in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Counties in Maine

We have data for 16 counties in Maine. Click on a county below to see more information about the demographics of that county, with links to cities and towns within that county.

Zip Codes in Maine

If you want to find out more about the population and demographics of specific zip codes in Maine, click on the links below.