Cumberland County, Maine facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cumberland County
U.S. county
The Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Maine
Maine's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Maine
Founded	November 1, 1760
Named for	Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
Seat	Portland
Largest city	Portland
Area
• Total	1,217 sq mi (3,150 km2)
• Land	835 sq mi (2,160 km2)
• Water	383 sq mi (990 km2)  31%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	303,069
• Estimate  (2021)	305,231
• Density	249.03/sq mi (96.15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st

Cumberland County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 303,069, making it the most populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of York County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, and named for William, Duke of Cumberland, a son of King George II. Cumberland County has the deepest and second-largest body of water in the state, Sebago Lake, which supplies tap water to most of the county. The county is the state's economic and industrial center, having the resources of the Port of Portland, the Maine Mall, and having corporate headquarters of major companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor, IDEXX Laboratories, Unum, and TD Bank. Cumberland County is part of the Portland–South Portland, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,217 square miles (3,150 km²), of which 835 square miles (2,160 km²) is land and 382 square miles (990 km²) (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

National protected area

• Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

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. The population density was 337.2 inhabitants per square mile (130.2/km²). There were 138,657 housing units at an average density of 166.0 per square mile (64.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% white, 2.4% black or African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.7% were English, 21.1% were Irish, 9.0% were German, 8.4% were Italian, 6.0% were Scottish, 5.5% were French Canadian, and 4.4% were American.

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.

Communities

Cities

• Portland (county seat)
• South Portland
• Westbrook

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

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

Education

School districts include:

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

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".

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Cumberland (Maine) para niños