Penobscot County, Maine

Penobscot County has a population of 154,710 and has grown 3.8% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $214,100, about 3.2 times the county's median household income of $66,356.

Home price
$214,100
Income
$66,356
Population
154,710
Unemployment
3.6%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$214,100county
Median gross rent$1,041county
Median year homes here were built1977county
Share of homes built before 198053.8%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile11.1%county
Share of homes that are vacant13.8%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented29.5%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use6.9%county
Typical monthly rent$1,563county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,392county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,061county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,799county
Home insurance / yr$1,335(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living113(statewide)
Median household income$66,356county
Family health premium / yr$25,568(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$13,310(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$4.049(statewide)
Poverty rate14.1%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home11.3%county
Unemployment rate3.6%county
Share of adults in the labor force59.6%county
Share of workers who are self-employed6.0%county
Share of workers employed by government15.8%county
Share of workers in the largest industry34.7%county
Economic output per resident$62,333county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.16%county
Top state income tax7.15%(statewide)
Capital gains tax7.15%(statewide)
Combined sales tax5.50%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time22.7 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service9.6 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport376456county
Miles to nearest general aviation field6.0 micounty
Airports with airline service located here1county
General aviation airfields located here6county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station92 micounty
Households without a vehicle8.1%county
Traffic deaths24.6county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,0007.3(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher30.1%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher94.8%county
Public schools in the county63county
Public school enrollment18514county
Students per full-time teacher12.1county
Free lunch eligible47.5%county
Elementary schools32county
Middle schools16county
High schools12county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above4county
Share of local colleges that are public60.0%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution7.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians136county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county6county
Hospitals here with an emergency department4county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here4county
Fine particulate matter4.6 µgcounty
Without health insurance6.3%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year11.8%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year16.2%county
Frequent mental distress18.0%county
No leisure-time physical activity23.7%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.6%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population154,710county
Land area in square miles3,397county
People per square mile of land45.5county
Supermarkets and grocery stores30county
Convenience stores32county
Share living far from a food store10.9%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract14.2%county
Population change since 2020+3.8%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents-5county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents3county
Median age42.5 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1817.6%county
Share of residents 65 and over20.1%county
Share of households that are one person30.4%county
Share of residents born outside the United States3.4%county
Second languages4.9%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls29.1%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents114county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents6county
Households that moved in3,611county
Households that moved away3,358county
Average income of arriving households$53,860county
Average income of departing households$54,895county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes6county
Housing units authorised in the latest year486county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings35.0%county
Violent crime rate100(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature43.4°Fcounty
Annual precipitation38.6 incounty
Annual snowfall60.7 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.64 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F5 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing163 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 5bcounty
Frost-free days149 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMay 10county
Average first fall frostOct 6county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$131county
Electric utilities serving this county3county
Electricity price per kWh23.4¢county
Household electricity use505 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$24.84(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity12.7%county
Homes heated by utility gas9.8%county
Homes heated by propane11.7%county
Homes heated by fuel oil54.8%county
Homes heated by wood8.6%county
Households with broadband88.8%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk83.0county
Coastal flood risk41.0county
Drought risk60.3county
Landslide risk69.4county
Hail risk50.2county
Earthquake risk79.1county
Tornado risk32.3county
Tropical cyclone risk86.7county
Extreme heat risk36.1county
Winter weather risk99.7county
Strong wind risk57.0county
Wildfire risk29.3county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams1county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Penobscot County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Maine figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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