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Poverty
in Maine - 2006
Hancock County Profile
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Population growth
in Hancock County from 2000 to 2005 (3.6%) was about the same
as the state average (3.7%). Hancock’s population profile in
2005 was somewhat older than the state as a whole, with a
lower proportion under age18.
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Hancock County’s
individual poverty rate for the population as a whole in 2003
was slightly lower than the state rate. However, for those
under 18 Hancock’s poverty rate was about the same as the
state rate.
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Median household
income in Hancock County in 2003
was slightly lower than the state median income. It was almost
identical to the 200% poverty level for a four-person
household.
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The 2004 ‘livable
wage’ estimate for a four-person household (2 parents, both
wage earners, and 2 children) in Hancock County was more than
twice as high as the poverty level for a four-person
household.
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The proportion of
per-capita personal income in 2004 from net earnings was lower
in Hancock County than in the state as a whole, and the
proportion from dividends, interest and rent was considerably
higher. This personal income distribution may reflect the
recent influx of relatively well-off retirees.
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Hancock County’s
monthly average unemployment rate for 2005 was somewhat higher
than the state average.
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Hancock County
residents were considerably under the state average in
participation rates for food stamps in FY05, a pattern which
has been true since at least FY02.
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The proportion of
households receiving LIHEAP benefits in FY05 was close to the
statewide level, and the proportion of the school-age
population eligible for free and reduced school lunch in FY06
was close to that in the state as a whole.
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A considerably
higher proportion of the Hancock County population has college
degrees (associate or bachelor’s) than in the state as a
whole, and the county has the second highest proportion of
residents with college degrees among Maine’s counties. This
education profile may be related to inmigration of
better-educated retirees and to the presence of institutions
such as the College of the Atlantic and the Jackson Lab.
TREND HIGHLIGHTS
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Over the most
recent four-year period for which county-level data are
available, the poverty rate trend in Hancock County generally
mirrors that of the state as a whole. The estimated percentage
of individuals below poverty increased each year from 2000 to
2002, with a decrease in 2003.
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Although the
participation rate in the food stamp program in Hancock County
is lower than in most counties, the rate of growth in the
numbers of households receiving food stamps from FY02 to FY05
was one of the highest in the state, 60.1%, compared with the
statewide increase of 49% in this time period.
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The number of
Hancock County households receiving LIHEAP benefits declined
slightly each year from FY02 to FY05.
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From 2002 to 2005,
Hancock County’s monthly average unemployment rate increased
or remained the same each year, reaching a peak in 2005. This
trend is different than that of the state as a whole, where
there was a decrease in the unemployment rate from 2004 to
2005.
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The percentage of
school-age children eligible for free and reduced school lunch
in Hancock County increased slightly from FY03 to FY06,
showing a generally similar pattern of increase as the state
as a whole.
MAPS AND GRAPHS
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