BANGOR, Maine — Androscoggin and Penobscot counties are growing while Kennebec and Sagadahoc counties are shrinking, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data provide a county-by-county breakdown of movement between any two counties in the U.S. during a five-year period and show that Mainers have a presence in almost every part of the country.
The numbers are part of the American Community Survey, a sampling of data by the Census Bureau that provides a more detailed look at the American populace. The data released Wednesday cover the years 2005-2009 in an effort to ensure that the sample is large enough to appropriately represent small communities.
Androscoggin County saw 6.8 percent net growth and Penobscot County saw 6.5 percent growth over the five-year period represented, according to the survey. The only other counties to see growth of more than 1 percent were Franklin County at 4 percent and York County at 1.7 percent.
Kennebec County lost about 2.8 percent of its population and Sagadahoc County lost more than 2.5 percent of its population over the five-year period, according to the survey. Brunswick Naval Air Station, a major employer for Sagadahoc County, was in the process of closing while the survey was taken.
Massachusetts, Florida and New Hampshire are top destinations and top origins of people moving in and out of Maine, according to the data. While the numbers show that Maine gained a significant number of residents from Massachusetts and New Hampshire from 2005 to 2009, it saw a net loss of people to Florida.
But it is by far more common for Mainers to move within the state. About 75,000 Mainers moved between counties within the state, the survey estimates, far more than the nearly 35,000 estimated to have left the state during the same time.
Hmmm, do you think the darker lines have anything to do with our Welfare system?
not sure what you mean?
He’s suggesting that people moving into Maine are doing so in order to take advantage of our “welfare system.” It’s an idea that has been pushed heavily by the governor and those who support him, and is used generally to bash liberals.
As of yet I’ve seen no stats to back it up, but hey, that never stopped them from calling it a ‘fact’ before.
I’ve never heard that argument before…..
Watch the news someday. We had a whole town go nuts because a whole small country moved there for benies. The town asked them to stop and where called racist for it.
Way to take the most negative look possible at the whole situation there guy. They came because of low crime, good schools and cheap housing. And, according to news reports that you apparently haven’t accessed since 2002, the Somalian immigrants in Lewiston have helped revitalize that city.
Ummmm, not so much.
Well, except on Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Umm, actually yes. They turned around a dying town that had been losing population for decades, with little hope for change. For the first time in memory, the school-age population increased, and Lewiston is looking at building a new school. Every one of those students brings in state tuition dollars, and the increased enrollment makes more programs possible for all students. Lots of the new immigrants have started small businesses and revitalized sections of Lisbon Street that had been dormant for years.
Most of the complaints I’ve heard about the Somalis are based on urban myths, untruths, and the fear that soemhow they are “taking” something away from native Mainers. Oh, yeah, they happen to be Africans and dress differently, but of course it has nothing to do with race. Like all of the immigrant groups before them, they will face prejudice and scorn, but will eventually become part of the fabric of our community. I welcome this breath of fresh air and change.
A bit of a stretch trying to squeeze a small country into a small town.
A more interesting question in Washington County, would be how many HS graduates find that they are able to make a living in Washington County or how many found employment elsewhere.
theirs alot more economic development in Washington county in recent years then there has been in the past. New us border station calais, port expansion eastport, new tourism and tidal bussiness in eastport and lubec, more seafood processing in trescott and machaisport, sunrise atv trail. hopefully this is just the start of major economic changes downeast
The tourist business is seasonal and short. Unless you are the owner and can make enough to get by for the rest of the year, there is no real career with benefits for the average person.
Eastport is growing to some degree due to the increased port usage and more retirees buying up property. Good to see. But still a shadow of the bustling community of yore. It would help the port tremendously if there were a rail line put in.
Calais is dieing. The only thing that keeps it alive is it’s proximity to the border. If it weren’t for the increase in Border Patrol and ICE agents since 9/11 the population would be well below it’s current 2500.
Of the five children in my parents family, two moved out of state permanently, two stayed in Maine and one moved out to make his fortune and returned with the loot.
The black lines look like flight paths….
mirgratory flyways….
escape path perhaps?
I hope the BDN can find a writer to make this into an actual story… pretty dry.
Go for it, audition.
I don’t believe the “net loss” of people to Florida. Statistics show them leaving but not coming back. However, they don’t show them coming back because they SNEAK back into the State with, well you know…drugs. :-O
should read “Popular Destinations of Mainers who Don’t Come back” A lot of kids in Maine don’t have many choices and go into the military. Does this Study take that into account? and the same goes for moving in , Military deployments? I picked up 2 tenants who moved here with their families last fall , both were being deployed , one from Alaska and another from Connecticut..if it wasn’t for the military I would assume those numbers would be much lower.
I worked with a girl from Machias who at age 20 told me that she was the only one left from her graduating class still living there. I doubt that they or a majority of them went into the military.
seriously? my statement was a question that had basis in the fact that a lot of people move here that are military and apply for apartments. i had a 4 bedroom available in 2008 that had 300+ applicants 27 were military …that’s a steep number. That’s my info. over the years I have seen many . now compare that to your statement of “you doubt they or a majority went into the military.” do you have any information to back that up? maybe just ask her how many SHE thought went in or if SHE even knows? first hand info would help in backing up such a vague statement. we all have doubt and theory ,but we can only really state what we see. The rest is BS. in 20 + years of talking to my tenants , the common theme was ‘what else was there for me to do?” their family is here so they are trying to come back for them.
Go to Aroostook.
While I love Aroostook County (I have family there), I always feel like the further south I go in Maine the closer I get to the modern timeline.
Modern timeline?? Are you really serious??
I hear you. The County is “Old Maine” in many ways.
And that’s a good thing.
(Oh, but we did hear about a newfangled thing called the innernnet that they’re working on; guess it might make its way up here eventually if they can figure out how to make it work).
shhh! don’t give away secrets. they will come if you do!
Yeah, things are soooo much better today then they were under the old timeline.
Who would of thunk it, Florida…LOL
The middle class has been definitely moving out of Skowhegan for at least several years and the few.remaining middle class residents are planning to move soon. My home has been for sale two years,it wont sell, no one wants to buy in Skowtown. The ‘people’ moving in are noisy,druggie, party people. My theory is they lived in trailer parks and they have bought into regular houses but they also bring thier trailer park lifestyles to the streets and neighborhoods of once quiet neighborhoods. Maine government statistics say there are now 4,168 welfare people in Skowhegan, only 3000 taxpayers[people that work]. Avoid Skowhegan, unless you think trailer park living is the good life. O yea, the people that have moved into Skow,they dont like police. They want to get rid of the police. Wont that be a fun time in Skowhegan with no PD. Welfare rules,drugs, and oui driving rule Skowhegan.
Former Skowhegan residents that i know of, they have moved to southern Maine,Mass., Carolinas,Midwest,Florida, …and 100% of the former residents that i have heard back from: they are so glad they got out of Skowhegan.
I knew the downtown traffic in Skowhegan was really messsed up; didn’t realize the whole town is messed up too.
Hope you can get out soon.
I wish you wouldn’t slam all people who live in trailer parks. One of my own kids lives in a trailer park (not in Skowhegan). That’s all she can afford, because she and her husband have low-paying jobs. Her home is well-maintained and the worst thing she does in the way of “partying” is to play Facebook games.
There’s something wrong with the map. It shows a fair amount of people moving to Clayton Lake, which is in the middle of the big woods and is a logging camp.
LOL
People had to move to where the Meth Clinic’s are located.
Many Aroostook natives move to Connecticut, make their money and return to Maine to buy camps in the unspoiled wilderness. Then they spend summer upta camp and winters in sunny Fla.
Do these numbers include the convicted sex offenders that are given one-way bus tickets to Maine (for instant free food and housing) when they step out of prison?
Wow who would of thought people are running to a state (FL) with no state income tax.
Florida has NO jobs and one of the highest crime rates in the nation.
Where is the tsunami of welfare parasites sweeping into the state joining with the local welfare parasites to deprive the native anti welfare crowd of their handouts, tax breaks,and crony capitalism subsidies. There are many people who need to come out of the closet and admit who and what they really are .
Ya,and the Gov. of Maine is going to Fix it all. NOT ! theres no need for this Country to give all these People that was not wanted in other places a home,And the U.S. Gov. wonders why its BROKE
I lived in Maine all of 62 years.at last I got OUT,moved to where people are treated like people. I think the State of Maine is a Great Place to Live.if you can stand the Taxes.and the Drug Runners,
My husband and I moved to Waldo County from Corrupticut, err… Connecticut in 2007 – best thing we ever did! He’s retired, I’m in healthcare – otherwise it would have been dicey with employment the way it is…
Its my Aroostook County stay out
“Never read quotes or statistics you find on the internet.” -Abraham Lincoln
Florida is where retired Maine people go for six months and one day because of the low excise tax on vehicles and no tax on pensions. They return to Maine for the remainder of the year with their Florida number plates on their cars. It’s a no brainier when you can registrar a car for 15% of the cost in Maine (not counting other tax benefits) . It would be one thing if Maine only charged you excise tax on what you paid for a car, but no they charge you a tax on the suggested MSRP. I have two vehicles and paid close to $1800 in excise tax while my son in the south paid $300 for about the same type and year of his cars. The working class 99% are taxed to death.
Small states with high density of population and fewer miles of roads and bridges to maintain can afford to give you a break on licensing your vehicles. Of course you may be paying double to triple what it cost you hear for auto insurance.
Small States like Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, and Alaska wwhere it costs less to register than it does in Maine? Or small States with lots of roads like New York where you can register a car for $40…. and no excise tax.
Actually Florida is considerably larger than Maine, has more roads, and places where you can still live out in the country.
OK Harry, Texas. Not subjected to near the harsh winters we have here. Their roads will naturally last a lot longer than here. If you live in a rural area your auto insurance will be about what it is here in Washington County. Check what the rates are if you live in the Fort Worth Dallas area or Houston. Oklahoma pretty much the same as Texas. Alaska? How much actually is paved? Montana is the 3rd largest state in area and one of the leat populated, I don’t know about their license fees.
You can register a car in NY, NJ, PA, Conn, a lot cheaper than Maine. You can also pay a heck of a lot more for auto insurance in them states.
Also FL has a population of about 19 million where Maine has about 1.3…. That can keep the cost of registering a vehicle down.
My sons auto Insurance is actual lower than mine, because they have more competition to choose from. Their state is larger than Maine in area. It boils down to many regulations put on their Insurance companies and their citizens. There are reasons why Maine is last in income and higher cost for energy.
Does your son live in an urban or rural area of this large state you speak of?
Lives in the suburbs of a city, but the same cost goes for people who lives in the rural area. Excise tax and local taxes are the same in their state. I will give you an example. Their home is about half an acre and they have an in ground pool nice home, and their property value is higher than mine and their taxes are $450. I live in Bangor with a .25 acre nice home valued at 188,000 and my property taxes is $3,360 with homestead and Veterans discount allowance figured in. Of course their lucky they have natural gas to heat with, but their electric bill is lower than mine and they use air condition 8 months a year. I will be guessing, but I think they have a couple nuclear plants in their state. I love Maine, but there has to be a reasonable cost to live here. I will tell you up front where not the 1% everyone talks about.
I used to live in the Philadelphia area, Bucks County. The cost to register and license a car was dirt cheap compared to here. However I have many friends still there and their insurance is much higher than here. As far as property tax is concerned I make out a lot better up here than my friends. New Jersey’s property tax is through the roof.
The East coast I guess PA, NJ, NY and New England is expensive to live for sure. My Son lives in Alabama and is a federal Fire Fighter working on a US Air force base. He used to work at the Naval Air base in Brunswick until 2002. The point I would like to make on excise tax, is I don’t think anyone would mind paying the tax on what the actual price of the car cost. I can’t remember when the state changed it from the actual cost to the MSRP took place. It was just another way for towns to generate revenue. No one pays the MSRP price, it’s only a markup. I am an independent, so I don’t care which party is in office, but people like me and 90% of the rest of Maine people don’t mind paying for what we buy / pay for an item. I just don’t want to pay for a fictitious price someone comes up with. Tax me on what I pay.
There is no big black line from Somalia… are you sure?