PORTLAND — The latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Maine’s population has remained relatively stagnant since the last decennial census.
The population estimates for 2012, released Thursday morning, are that Maine added 831 residents since the 2010 census, for an estimated total population of 1,329,192 as of July 1, 2012.
The majority of the state’s population gains occurred in York and Cumberland counties, which added 1,874 and 2,245 residents, respectively, between 2010 and 2012. Those county gains represent meager 1 percent and 0.8 percent increases.
However, the gains were offset by estimated population losses in 12 of Maine’s 16 counties.
Aroostook and Piscataquis each are estimated to have lost 1.4 percent of their population between 2010 and 2012, the highest loss in the state by percentage. Washington County lost an estimated 1.2 percent of its population.
Penobscot County is estimated to have lost 0.1 percent of its population, for a total of 153,746.
The fastest-growing areas of the country in 2012 were the around the Great Plains and western Texas, according to the census estimates.
The populations of Maine’s neighbors in northern New England have also remained relatively unchanged since 2010. New Hampshire’s population is estimated to have grown 0.3 percent, to 1,320,718, between 2010 and 2012, while Vermont’s population shift was so meager the census reported a 0.0 percent change.
Massachusetts’ population is estimated to have grown 1.5 percent.
Comments are no longer available on this story