Census Snapshot:
Where are the renters?

Research by Melissa Kim

Copyright © 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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	Source: U.S. Census; staff art

Maine has more owners than renters by a long shot. Owner-occupied housing units make up 71.6% of the housing units. That's growing, too. In 1990, owner-occupied units represented 70.5% of the total.

The county with the highest percent of owners is Lincoln County, in midcoast Maine, with 83% home-owners. That's followed by Waldo (79.8%) and Piscataquis (79.5%) counties.

So where are all the renters? The places with the highest percent of renters are, as one might expect, the college towns across the state. The places with the lowest percent of renters are weighted heavily in southern Maine, with Cumberland, Falmouth Foreside, West Kennebunk, South Sanford and Kennebunkport in the bottom ten.

The 12 communities in Maine with the highest percentage of rental units
Location	% of renter-occupied units
Unity	64.3%
Farmington	61.0%
Portland	57.5%
Orono	57.5%
Machias	53.5%
Lewiston	52.8%
Bangor	52.5%
Kittery	51.6%
Biddeford	51.4%
Waterville	50.9%
Bar Harbor	50.4%
Fort Kent	47.7%

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