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Poverty
in Maine - 2006
Penobscot County Profile
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Population growth
in Penobscot County from 2000 to 2005 (1.5%) was somewhat
below the state average (3.7%). However, the county is one of
five in Maine that reversed from being a net outmigration
county in the 1990s to a net inmigration county in 2000-2004.
The estimated proportion of the working-age population (18-64)
in 2005 was the highest in the state, though this age
distribution may be skewed by the presence of the college
student population.
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Penobscot County’s
individual poverty rate in 2003 was somewhat higher than the
state rate, both for the population as a whole and for those
under 18.
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Median household
income in Penobscot County in 2003 was 7.5% lower than the
state median income. It was slightly below 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 Penobscot County was more
than double the poverty level for a four-person household; the
livable wage for the Bangor metropolitan area was even higher,
due to higher costs of housing.
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The proportion of
per-capita personal income in 2004 from net earnings was about
the same in Penobscot County as in the state as a whole.
However, the proportion from transfer payments was somewhat
higher and from dividends, interest and rent was somewhat
lower.
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Penobscot County’s
monthly average unemployment rate for 2005 was somewhat above
the state average.
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Penobscot County
residents were somewhat above the state average participation
rates for food stamps and LIHEAP in FY05, and the proportion
of the school-age population eligible for free and reduced
school lunch in FY06 was likewise somewhat higher than in the
state as a whole.
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Compared with
LIHEAP households statewide, a larger proportion in Penobscot
County received food stamps and Medicaid benefits. Older
households (over age 65) represented a smaller proportion of
the LIHEAP caseload than statewide.
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A slightly smaller
proportion of the Penobscot County population has bachelor’s
degrees than in the state as a whole, though a higher
proportion has high school degrees.
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 Penobscot 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 2003 remained more than a full
percentage point higher than it was in 2000.
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Over the four-year
period from FY02 through FY05, the number of Penobscot County
households receiving food stamps showed an increase each year;
the number in FY05 was 55% greater than in FY02. Household
food stamp use statewide increased by 49% in this time period.
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The number of
Penobscot County households receiving LIHEAP in FY05 was
higher than in FY02, though in FY03 and FY04, there were
somewhat fewer households than in FY02.
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From 2002 to 2005,
Penobscot County’s unemployment rate reached a peak in 2003.
Though the rate has declined somewhat since then, in 2005 it
remained higher than in 2002.
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The percentage of
school-age children eligible for free and reduced school lunch
in Penobscot County increased steadily from FY03 through FY06,
showing a similar pattern of increase as the state as a whole.
MAPS AND GRAPHS
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