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On Thursday, May 15, 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for cities and towns as of July 1, 2024. National, state, and county housing unit estimates were also released.
As the county estimates showed, 2024 generally saw more growth in and around larger cities and towns nationwide. Cities in the South grew the fastest. The South had 13 of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the country (seven were in Texas). Cities and towns in the Northeast experienced population growth in 2024 after years of steady decline. In the Northeast, cities and towns with fewer than 5,000 people grew the slowest (+0.1% on average), while cities with populations of 50,000 or more grew the fastest (+1.0%).
In Maine, percentage growth in the population was highest in southern cities and towns, though several very small towns elsewhere in the state also saw high rates of growth, as shown in Figure 1 and 3. Of the 11 Maine cities and towns with 5,000 or more people that grew by at least 1% during the year, six were in Cumberland County, and the remaining were in York (2), Androscoggin (2), and Knox (1). Many of the towns that declined the most by percentage were very small communities, most losing just one or two residents during the year.
Larger cities and towns in Cumberland, York, and Androscoggin counties added the highest number of residents in 2024, as illustrated in Figure 2. In the Greater Portland area, the cities of Westbrook (+693), Windham (+264), and Scarborough (+220) added more residents than Portland (+201). Figure 3 provides a visual representation of these numerical changes across Maine. Forty Maine towns declined by more than ten people in 2024, mostly in Knox (11), Aroostook (8), Hancock (6), and Oxford (5).
Portland remains the largest city in Maine, with 69,568 people and nearly twice the size of the next-largest city, Lewiston, as detailed in Figure 4. The top-10 ranking of towns by population changed in 2024, with Sanford moving into the eighth position, Biddeford dropping to ninth, and Westbrook moving up to number ten.
More detail can be found in the tables and figures below. The data can be downloaded in various formats and the map is interactive (Figure 3).
Note all figures were created by Maine's Office of the State Economist.
Figure 1: Top and Bottom 10 Towns by Percent Change, 2023-2024
Figure 2: Top and Bottom 10 Towns by Numeric Change, 2023-2024
Figure 3: Map of numerical change, 2023-2024
Hover mouse over map for more information
Figure 4: Largest Cities and Towns, 2024
All Maine Cities and Towns Population Estimates, 2024
Download the complete dataset using the buttons below or create a custom view by searching for specific towns or filtering by county before downloading.