Cumberland County, Maine

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1217 sqmi, of which 835 sqmi is land and 382 sqmi (31%) is water.

Most of Casco Bay and most of its islands east of East Cundy Point belong to the county's territory, as does the northernmost part of Saco Bay. Sebago Lake flows into Casco Bay via the Presumpscot River, and Nonesuch River flows into Saco Bay. North and west of Sebago Lake, the terrain of the county begins to flow into the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range.

Adjacent counties

• Androscoggin County – north
• Oxford County – northwest
• Sagadahoc County – northeast
• York County – southwest

Major highways

• [[Image:US 202.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 202
• [[Image:US 302.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 302
• [[Image:US 1.svg|20px]] U.S. 1
• [[Image:MA Route 9.svg|20px]] Maine State Route 9
• [[Image:MA Route 77.svg|20px]] Maine State Route 77
• [[Image:MA Route 114.svg|20px]] Maine State Route 114
• Falmouth Spur

National protected area

• Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2019

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 303,069. Of the residents, 18.5% were under the age of 18 and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males. 62.4% of residents lived in urban areas and 37.6% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 87.2% White, 4.0% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.

There were 128,100 households in the county, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 149,452 housing units, of which 14.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.1% were owner-occupied and 32.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 281,674 people, 117,339 households, and 70,778 families living in the county.{{cite web |access-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213021451/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US23005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213183942/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US23005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213030605/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US23005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 117,339 households, 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.7% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 41.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $55,658 and the median income for a family was $71,335. Males had a median income of $48,158 versus $38,539 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,041. About 6.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web |access-date=January 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213022812/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US23005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 265,612 people, 107,989 households, and 67,709 families living in the county. The population density was 318 PD/sqmi. There were 122,600 housing units at an average density of 147 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 95.74% White, 1.06% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 107,989 households, out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.10% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.30% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.30% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,048, and the median income for a family was $54,485. Males had a median income of $35,850 versus $27,935 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,949. About 5.20% of families and 7.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

19.6% were of English, 15.5% Irish, 9.6% French, 7.8% United States or American, 7.7% Italian, 6.3% French Canadian and 5.9% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.4% spoke English and 2.1% French as their first language.

Government

Cumberland County is represented by county commissioners and the daily operations are run by a county manager. The county has several responsibilities, including running a Sheriff's department, the Cumberland County Jail, and a county court system. Cumberland County also has its own treasury department, emergency management agency and also has a district attorney office. The county also has a stake in the Cross Insurance Arena (formerly called the Cumberland County Civic Center), as well as programs in local economic development and tourism.

Cumberland County is divided into five districts of approximate equal population, each of which elects one county commissioner. The sheriff is elected countywide and runs the Cumberland County Sheriff's office and the Cumberland County Jail.

Politics

Like the rest of Maine, Cumberland County was a solid Republican county after the Civil War. Between 1860 and 1960, the Republican presidential nominee won Cumberland County in every election except 1912, when the county was won by Democrat Woodrow Wilson following a split in the Republican vote between incumbent president William Howard Taft and Progressive nominee, the former Republican president Theodore Roosevelt. The county remained steadfastly and overwhelmingly Republican even in Franklin D. Roosevelt's huge Democratic landslide win in 1936.

In 1964, Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won Cumberland County and Maine's 15 other counties as part of a 44-state landslide over controversial Republican nominee Barry Goldwater. Cumberland remained in the Democratic column in 1968, backing Hubert H. Humphrey, who had chosen Maine Senator Edmund Muskie as his running mate. These Democratic victories were a sign of things to come for Cumberland County. Though it would snap back into the Republican column for Richard Nixon in 1972, Republican victories in Cumberland grew increasingly narrower, with Republican Gerald Ford winning it by less than 2,000 votes over Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter would narrowly win the county in 1980, marking the first time Cumberland had diverged from the rest of Maine in a presidential election, as the state would be carried by Republican nominee Ronald Reagan.

Reagan would easily carry Cumberland in his 49-state landslide re-election in 1984; however, it was Maine's closest county, with Democrat Walter Mondale losing it by a relatively narrow 13.7%. In 1988, George H. W. Bush would become the last Republican, as of 2024, to carry Cumberland County at the presidential level, winning it by less than seven points. In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton would win the county with nearly 43% of the vote against Bush and independent Ross Perot; it would be the last time a Democrat would receive less than 50% of the vote in Cumberland County in a presidential election. In 2004, Cumberland would become the most Democratic county in Maine, a position it has retained through 2024. In 2008, over 105,000 ballots would be cast for the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama; it would be the first time a candidate received 100,000 votes in Cumberland County in history. Democrats have exceeded 100,000 votes in Cumberland in each subsequent presidential election. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won Cumberland County with 66% of the vote, the most lopsided presidential election result in the county since Lyndon Johnson won 69% of the vote in 1964.

In 2012, the county voted 65% to legalize same-sex marriage.

Voter registration

Communities

Cities

• Portland (county seat)
• South Portland
• Westbrook

Towns

• Baldwin
• Bridgton
• Brunswick
• Cape Elizabeth
• Casco
• Chebeague Island
• Cumberland
• Falmouth
• Freeport
• Frye Island
• Gorham
• Gray
• Harpswell
• Harrison
• Long Island
• Naples
• New Gloucester
• North Yarmouth
• Pownal
• Raymond
• Scarborough
• Sebago
• Standish
• Windham
• Yarmouth

Census-designated places

• Bridgton
• Brunswick
• Casco
• Cousins Island
• Cumberland Center
• Dunstan
• Falmouth
• Falmouth Foreside
• Freeport
• Gorham
• Gray
• Little Falls
• Littlejohn Island
• Naples
• North Windham
• Oak Hill (known as "Scarborough" prior to 2020)
• Standish
• Steep Falls
• South Windham
• Yarmouth

Other unincorporated communities

• Bailey Island
• Brunswick Station
• Higgins Beach
• North Bridgton
• Orr's Island
• Prouts Neck
• Sebago Lake
• South Casco
• South Freeport

Education

School districts include:

• Brunswick School Department
• Cape Elizabeth School Department
• Chebeague Island School Department
• Falmouth Public Schools
• Gorham School District
• Long Island School District
• Portland Public Schools
• Regional School Unit No. 05
• Regional School Unit No. 14
• Scarborough Public Schools
• School Administrative District 06
• School Administrative District 15
• School Administrative District 17
• School Administrative District 55
• School Administrative District 61
• School Administrative District 51
• School Administrative District 75
• Sebago Public Schools
• South Portland School Department
• Westbrook School Department
• Yarmouth School Department

Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, a state-owned school, is in the county.

University of Maine School of Law is located in downtown Portland.

In popular culture

The fictional town of Jerusalem's Lot, featured in the vampire novel 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, is situated in Cumberland County. King makes passing reference to other nearby towns and cities, including Portland, Falmouth, and Westbrook.

The video game Trauma Team takes place in Cumberland County in the year 2020, referencing Portland and its Back Cove neighborhood. Neither actual hospital housed in Portland is mentioned in-game; instead, a fictional trauma center called Resurgam First Care is fabricated for the plot (in real life, Portland's city motto is "Resurgam", Latin for "I will rise again"). Two other fictional places are mentioned that reference the county name: "Cumberland College" and "Cumberland Institute of Forensic Medicine".

References

References

1. "Explore Census Data".
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. "Cumberland County, Maine".
4. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
5. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
10. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
11. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
12. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
14. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Cumberland County, Maine". [[United States Census Bureau]].
15. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cumberland County, Maine".
16. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Cumberland County, Maine".
17. (November 8, 2016). "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates".
18. (March 29, 2024). "Registered & Enrolled Voters Statewide".
19. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
20. Geography Division. (January 14, 2021). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cumberland County, ME". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].