People in the U.S. are moving to Maine more than any other New England state.
Maine gained 7,406 more residents than it lost from July 2024 to July 2025, according to a report from SEO Backlinks. This earned Maine the seventh spot among states with the highest rate of population growth during that time.
This means Maine gained roughly five new residents per 1,000 people, according to the report, which used data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The study counted only people moving to Maine from other states, not international migration.
The data aligns with a report from the Maine State Economist, which announced in January that Maine’s population reached a record high of more than 1.4 million in 2025. That marked a population growth of 0.5% from 2024 to 2025.
While Maine didn’t see the highest overall number of new residents, the state’s small population can make such an influx feel much larger. This is perhaps most apparent when more people are looking to buy a home in an already tight — and expensive — housing market.
The number of homes for sale across the state hovered around 7,500 in July 2025, up from 6,300 in July 2024, according to data from Redfin. But the median home sale price jumped from $400,000 to $420,000 during the same period.
New Hampshire was the only other New England state to make the top 10 list, as it was ranked ninth after gaining 6,554 people, or 4.6 per 1,000 people.
South Carolina took the top spot, as more than 66,600 people moved there, leading to a migration rate of 12 people per 1,000 residents.
Data from Maine Listings shows in-state buyers accounted for 69% of Maine homes sold in 2024 while out-of-state buyers snatched up the remaining 31% of homes.
Of those, people from Massachusetts accounted for slightly more than 10 percent of the sales while New Hampshire and Florida residents made up another 5% and 2%, respectively, according to Maine Listings data.
Maine has been included in other rankings for generating the most interest from out-of-state buyers, including one from U.S. News and World Report last year that credited the state’s popularity to its “rugged coastal beauty” and “year-round activities for outdoor enthusiasts.”