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Saco, Ellsworth, South Portland: These cities aren't just some of the best places to live in Maine. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Pine Tree State.
Saco in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $70,517 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 7.288935500786575%.
If you're thinking of moving to one of these towns, you'll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Maine share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 21 places in Maine with more than 2,000 people.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Maine.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Maine:
The 10 Richest Cities In Maine For 2021
1. Saco
/10
Population: 19,497
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $70,517
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.3%
More on Saco: Real Estate | Photos
2. Ellsworth
/10
Population: 7,991
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 5)
Median Income: $53,324
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 9.8%
More on Ellsworth: Real Estate | Photos
3. South Portland
/10
Population: 25,548
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $69,290
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on South Portland: Real Estate | Photos
4. Auburn
/10
Population: 23,187
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 4)
Median Income: $49,719
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 11.3%
More on Auburn: Real Estate | Photos
5. Portland
/10
Population: 66,595
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $60,467
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 14.6%
More on Portland: Real Estate | Photos
6. Bath
/10
Population: 8,319
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 2)
Median Income: $48,252
Unemployment Rate: 1.9%
Poverty Rate: 13.8%
More on Bath: Real Estate | Photos
7. Biddeford
/10
Population: 21,462
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $53,120
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 11.7%
More on Biddeford: Real Estate | Photos
8. Brewer
/10
Population: 9,090
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 6)
Median Income: $52,174
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 12.5%
More on Brewer: Real Estate | Photos
9. Hallowell
/10
Population: 2,445
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 6)
Median Income: $57,635
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
Poverty Rate: 14.5%
More on Hallowell: Real Estate | Photos
10. Belfast
/10
Population: 6,688
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $62,857
Unemployment Rate: 7.9%
Poverty Rate: 13.5%
More on Belfast: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Maine For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 21 places with more than 2,000 people in Maine, we ranked each place from 1 to 21 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Saco, crowned the "Richest City In Maine For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 21 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Maine For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Maine, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Maine.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Maine, according to data:
Poorest: Calais
2nd Poorest: Augusta
3rd Poorest: Waterville
For more Maine reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Maine
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saco | 1.33 |
| 2 | Ellsworth | 5.33 |
| 3 | South Portland | 5.67 |
| 4 | Auburn | 6.0 |
| 5 | Portland | 6.0 |
| 6 | Bath | 7.33 |
| 7 | Biddeford | 8.0 |
| 8 | Brewer | 8.33 |
| 9 | Hallowell | 10.0 |
| 10 | Belfast | 10.33 |
| 11 | Presque Isle | 12.0 |
| 12 | Westbrook | 12.33 |
| 13 | Caribou | 13.33 |
| 14 | Rockland | 13.33 |
| 15 | Lewiston | 14.33 |
| 16 | Old Town | 15.0 |
| 17 | Gardiner | 15.0 |
| 18 | Bangor | 15.67 |
| 19 | Waterville | 16.33 |
| 20 | Augusta | 16.67 |
| 21 | Calais | 18.67 |
Who on earth came up with THIS list?!
Biddeford, Lewiston??? What a joke.
This list seems wrong. Where are Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Cape?
completely wrong. Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland Foreside, Falmouth are the top 3…………..BY FAR. NONE of these Top 10 would make the Top 10. You also got Yarmouth, Kennebunkport, Biddeford Pool. etc etc Horrible research
Wtf, where’s Kennebunkport? Camden? Bs