Poverty in Maine - 2006
Androscoggin County Profile

Population growth in Androscoggin County from 2000 to 2005 (4.1%) was somewhat above the state average (3.7%). Androscoggin is among the four counties with the highest estimated proportion of the population under the age of 18.

  • Androscoggin County’s individual poverty rate in 2003 was slightly higher than the state rate, both for the population as a whole and for those under 18.

  • Median household income in Androscoggin County in 2003 was slightly lower than the state median income. It was slightly below the 200% poverty level for a four-person household.

  • The 2004 ‘livable wage’ estimate for a four-person household (2 parents, both wage earners, and 2 children) in Androscoggin County was more than 2.5 times higher than the poverty level for a four-person household. The livable wage for the Lewiston-Auburn metropolitan area was slightly lower than in the county as a whole.

  • The proportion of per-capita personal income in 2004 from net earnings was slightly higher in Androscoggin County than in the state as a whole, the proportion from transfer payments was somewhat higher, and from dividends,interest and rent was somewhat lower.

  • Androscoggin County’s monthly average unemployment rate for 2005 was about the same as the state average.

  • Androscoggin County residents were considerably above the state average participation rates for food stamps in FY05, and the county ranked among Maine’s top four counties in food stamp program participation rates.

  • The proportion of the school-age population eligible for free and reduced school lunch in FY06 was higher than in the state as a whole.

  • The proportion of households receiving LIHEAP benefits in FY05 was about the same as in the state as a whole. Compared with LIHEAP households statewide, a smaller proportion in Androscoggin County received food stamps and Medicaid benefits. Single person households represented a slightly greater proportion of the LIHEAP caseload than statewide.

  • A considerably lower proportion of the Androscoggin County population has bachelor’s degrees than in the state as a whole, and a higher proportion lack high school degrees.

TREND HIGHLIGHTS

  • Over the most recent four-year period for which county-level data are available, the poverty rate trend in Androscoggin County mirrors that of the state as a whole. The estimated percentage of individuals below poverty increased each year from 2000 to 2002, with a very slight decrease from 2002 to 2003. However, the individual poverty rate in Androscoggin County in 2003 remained more than a full percentage point higher than it was in 2000.

  • Over the four-year period from FY02 to FY05, the number of Androscoggin County households receiving food stamps showed an increase each year; the number in FY05 was 53% greater than in FY02, somewhat greater than the statewide increase of 49% in this time period.

  • The number of Androscoggin County households receiving LIHEAP benefits in FY05 was about the same as in FY02, though in FY03 and FY04 there were somewhat fewer households.

  • From 2002 to 2005, Androscoggin County’s monthly average unemployment rate reached a peak in 2005. During this time period, Androscoggin’s rate remained about the same as in the state as a whole.

  • The percentage of school-age children eligible for free and reduced school lunch in Androscoggin County increased from FY03 to FY06, showing a similar pattern of increase
    as the state as a whole.

MAPS AND GRAPHS

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