Bangor, Maine

Area Profile

31,938 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Bangor, in Penobscot County.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 20% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 35% of 4,199 cities measured64
SchoolsTop 7% of 4,162 cities measured84
GrowthTop 49% of 4,224 cities measured51
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 4,218 cities measured71
Climate4,165th of 4,225 cities measured51
Physical resilienceTop 18% of 4,226 cities measured84
Access2,395th of 4,226 cities measured90
Economic stability3,390th of 4,226 cities measured39
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.2% and median household income $59,942, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 50% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 7% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 71 units authorized over the past twelve months, 30% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
31,938
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,942
Bottom 39% nationally
Density
932/sq mi
34.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Maine
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BGR
2 mi · Bangor Intl
Median home value
$219,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 89% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 15,261 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPenobscot County, ME’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$53,86014th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPenobscot County, ME’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,10815th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,0282024 ACS 5-Year$59,942Bottom 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4332024 ACS 5-Year$38,557Top 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%Bottom 31%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.8 minTop 11%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year35.1%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year72.6%35th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202615,261Bottom 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 20260.0%Top 46%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,76614th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.0%Bottom 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBangor, ME Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,860Bottom 18%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBangor, ME Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$47,960Bottom 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%88th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 32%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202460k50k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,942 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Bangor, ME

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,550$34,140
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,290$37,900
Retail Salespersons2,210$35,560
Registered Nurses2,190$93,940
Cashiers1,990$32,200
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,440$56,250

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

50% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.7 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.7
across 15 of them
Math proficiency
50.4%
Top 8% in Maine
Reading proficiency
63.8%
Top 25% in Maine
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bangor High SchoolBangor Public Schools1,06813.347%61%
Hermon High SchoolHermon Public Schools56714.937%57%
Patricia A Duran SchoolHermon Public Schools45912.447%57%
Glenburn Elementary SchoolGlenburn Public Schools38113.640%63%
William S. Cohen SchoolBangor Public Schools37212.460%81%
James F. Doughty SchoolBangor Public Schools34611.938%68%
Hermon Middle SchoolHermon Public Schools31914.533%59%
Fruit Street SchoolBangor Public Schools31013.587%82%
Downeast SchoolBangor Public Schools2889.942%37%
Mary Snow SchoolBangor Public Schools26612.764%76%
Fairmount SchoolBangor Public Schools25911.344%64%
Vine Street SchoolBangor Public Schools19010.655%65%

43.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Maine’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Bangor, ME Metro Area is up 56% over five years, but down 0.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,076 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.40% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,055 a month.

A median home at $219,600 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $88,515, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.3

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Bangor, ME Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,055
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$219,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bangor’s median household income of $59,942, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Bangor, ME Metro Area’s figure202392.3Top 14%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Bangor, ME Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−0.5%4th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Bangor, ME Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+55.6%90th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Bangor, ME Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+106.5%71st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 50%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year47.2%7th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5052024 ACS 5-Year16,04296th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$432024 ACS 5-Year$1,055Bottom 43%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,3052024 ACS 5-Year$219,60058th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2302024 ACS 5-Year$3,07674th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,6992024 ACS 5-Year$88,515Top 38%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year1.40%73rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.8%Bottom 37%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±412024 ACS 5-Year3378th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.9%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3402024 ACS 5-Year1,46197th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

51/ 100
Top 49% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 32,446 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 71 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Penobscot County, which contains Bangor, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,860, close to the $55,108 of households that moved out.

At 2.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
71
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.2
Bottom 45% nationally
Year over year
−30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k32k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
51%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,860
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,108
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hancock County, ME 474 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  2. Waldo County, ME 315 people · 5.6% of arrivals
  3. Somerset County, ME 298 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  4. Piscataquis County, ME 257 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  5. Aroostook County, ME 247 people · 4.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Hancock County, ME 402 people · 7.9% of departures
  2. Cumberland County, ME 319 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Waldo County, ME 296 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. Somerset County, ME 279 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Kennebec County, ME 266 people · 5.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Penobscot County, ME. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420258339
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2020 (+2%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.7 inches, including 74.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 33, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BANGOR INTL AP, 2.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals74.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year332024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
33
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

84 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and winter weather, with inland flooding alone responsible for 58% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 82% of measured US cities.

Winter weatherModerate
Ice stormHigh
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, inland flooding, cold wave, drought, strong wind, hail, avalanche, coastal flooding, heat wave, tornado, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
242
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,834
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Bangor's police department reported 242 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,834.

Penobscot County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 33.5 per 100,000 residents in Penobscot County.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
33.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
21.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Bangor’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Bangor (Penobscot County) rather than Bangor itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Bangor Intl at 2 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.2%Bottom 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle2 miTop 2%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%Top 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bangor IntlBGR2 mi11,440 ft
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT186 mi9,250 ft
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS203 mi10,083 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
68
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Other cities in Bangor, ME

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
OronoPenobscot County11,15169Orono vs Bangor

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Bangor side by side with a similar place.

Bangor vs OronoBangor vs Johnson City

Moving to Bangor from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Bangor

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Bangor with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0440144,854$66,932$239,90065