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 $72,700 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 9.310883702172708%.
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 2017-2021 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 2023
1. Saco
/10
Population: 20,203
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $72,700
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 9.3%
More on Saco: Real Estate | Photos
2. Ellsworth
/10
Population: 8,340
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,029
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 8.4%
More on Ellsworth: Real Estate | Photos
3. South Portland
/10
Population: 26,428
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $73,899
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on South Portland: Real Estate | Photos
4. Westbrook
/10
Population: 20,074
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $71,335
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 10.3%
More on Westbrook: Real Estate | Photos
5. Bath
/10
Population: 8,718
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $60,838
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 12.4%
More on Bath: Real Estate | Photos
6. Portland
/10
Population: 68,063
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $66,109
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 12.7%
More on Portland: Real Estate | Photos
7. Hallowell
/10
Population: 2,542
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Income: $57,250
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 12.4%
More on Hallowell: Real Estate | Photos
8. Biddeford
/10
Population: 22,331
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $58,142
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 13.3%
More on Biddeford: Real Estate | Photos
9. Brewer
/10
Population: 9,606
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $50,614
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 15.5%
More on Brewer: Real Estate | Photos
10. Auburn
/10
Population: 23,790
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $55,402
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%
Poverty Rate: 11.1%
More on Auburn: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Maine For 2023
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 2017-2021 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 2023”. 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.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Maine For 2023
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 | 2.67 |
| 2 | Ellsworth | 3.67 |
| 3 | South Portland | 4.0 |
| 4 | Westbrook | 5.33 |
| 5 | Bath | 6.33 |
| 6 | Portland | 7.0 |
| 7 | Hallowell | 7.0 |
| 8 | Biddeford | 9.33 |
| 9 | Brewer | 10.33 |
| 10 | Auburn | 10.67 |
| 11 | Caribou | 11.0 |
| 12 | Gardiner | 11.33 |
| 13 | Old Town | 13.0 |
| 14 | Presque Isle | 13.67 |
| 15 | Bangor | 13.67 |
| 16 | Rockland | 14.33 |
| 17 | Lewiston | 15.33 |
| 18 | Belfast | 15.33 |
| 19 | Waterville | 18.0 |
| 20 | Augusta | 19.33 |
| 21 | Calais | 19.67 |
