Category Archives: Demographics

Look out Emma, Charlotte and Harper made big gains in Maine baby names

The ever-dominant Emma remained Maine’s most popular baby name in 2016, but other favorites for baby girls are quickly gaining favor. The names Charlotte and Harper have surged in popularity, according to tallies released by the U.S. Social Security Administration Thursday. There’s less movement among male baby names, where Liam and Owen were the top picks. More notable on the boy’s […]

All but 2 Maine counties had more deaths than births in 2016

Census estimates released Thursday show that only two of Maine’s 16 counties had more births than deaths last year. Cumberland and Androscoggin counties were the only places in the state where more people were born than died, according to the census estimates. The county-level census figures describe how demographers think the state gained 2,000 people overall last year. [Hint: Maine’s population […]

Not only is Maine aging, we’re now losing 20-somethings, too

The census estimate of Mainers in their 20s dropped last year for the first time since 2010 as the ranks of the retirement-aged continued to grow. The latest detailed population estimates from the Census Bureau provide a look at the estimated population by single-year ages, up to 84 years. I’ve put those ages into larger groups below. The latest figures show dynamics behind the […]

Fewer young Mainers are getting hitched, more living with parents

It’s neither as glamorous or as disappointing as it sounds: nationwide, people ages 18-34 were more likely to be living with parents in 2014 than any time before. A Pew Research study documented those trends nationally earlier this week, finding that the living situations of younger Americans has shifted quite a bit over the last century, due to a few changes. […]

How Maine’s population has shifted over 155 years, in one chart

As recently as 1960, Aroostook County had more people than York County. In 1860, Washington County had a larger population than most of the midcoast. Changes during the past 155 years give a shorthand look at Maine’s economic and political history, with southern and central Maine counties gaining in Maine’s population rankings. Below, each county is represented by a line, tracking its rank in each census […]