MAINE, USA — Like the rest of the nation, Maine saw slow growth in its population, according to the newly released 2020 Census data. Maine grew from 1,328,361 to 1,362,359 people in ten years, a difference of just under 34,000 habitants and an increase of about 6%.
Of those Mainers, 51% were female while 48% were male. Median earnings were far from equal for men and women. Men came in at $51,029 while women brought in $40,873 annually.
Maine has a reputation for being an older state and the data supports that. About 21% are over the age of 65. Comparatively, Massachusetts had 17% and California 14%. The median age of a Mainer is 45.
Racially, Maine saw little growth in its diversity. The state is 94% white. Five years ago Maine's population consisted of 1.2% of Black or African persons while in 2020 the data showed only 1.6%. Asians accounted for 1.1% of the population while 5 years ago they were 1%. Latinos were 1.7% of Mainers, which was up from 1.5% in 2015.
Economically, the median family income of Mainers rose to $58,924, up from $55,339 in 2015. The good news is that fewer people in Maine are living in poverty. The data shows about 10% of the population lives in poverty now. This is a decrease from 13% in 2015.
Education saw a slight increase as more Mainers over the age of 25 who only completed high school rose to 21% while those with a bachelor's degree or higher came in at 32%. Both are up just a couple of points.
Politically Maine was unaffected by the 2020 census. It retained the same level of representation in Washington D.C. Six states gained seats in the House of Representatives and seven states lost representatives.
Interestingly, as the nation tries to decrease its impact on global warming, 60% of Mainers still heat their homes with oil or kerosene, which is down less than 1% from 2015. Only .2% of people use solar power.
To learn more visit the Census Bureau by clicking here. You'll be able to dig deeper into the numbers that affect Mainers.
