Poverty in Maine - 2003

Executive Summary

The Maine Community Action Association contracted with the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy at the University of Maine to design and conduct a statewide needs assessment as part of the Community Services Block Grant requirements. This report presents a county-by-county picture of poverty in Maine. Information is based on datasets from the Food Stamp and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs administered by the Department of Human Services and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) administered by the Maine State Housing Authority through the Community Action Agencies; unemployment data from the Maine Department of Labor; and relevant information from Census 2000. The indicators are a subset of standard ones used in the United States in evaluating the extent of poverty, assessing needs, and measuring services and benefits aimed at low-income populations. The report includes a statewide and county-by-county view of selected indicators, as well as individual "poverty profiles" for each county.

Poverty Rates

• The household poverty rate is the percentage of all households below the federal poverty threshold. For Maine as a whole, the household poverty rate in Census 2000 is 11.5%
• The highest poverty rate for households is found in Washington County (20.9%), more than 2.5 times greater than Cumberland, which had the lowest rate (8%).
• One of the most striking features of poverty in Maine is the large proportion (45%) of below-poverty households that are people living alone. In several counties (Aroostook, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Piscataquis and Washington) close to half of these single-person households are comprised of people age 65 or older. 
• Although the popular image of a household below poverty is a single mother with children, in fact only 22% of below-poverty households statewide are of this type.
• In terms of age distribution, the relative proportions of younger, working-age, and older persons below poverty show a good deal of variation across counties. Older persons (age 65 and older) are represented in the below-poverty population in greater proportions in Aroostook, Piscataquis, and Washington counties than in the state as a whole.

Income

• Maine's median and per-capita income are below national averages, and Maine is in the lower tier of states in both measures.
• There is a tremendous range in median household income and in per-capita income across counties. As reported in Census 2000, median household income ranges from $25,869 in Washington County to $44,098 in Cumberland County, and per-capita income ranges from $14,119 in Washington to $23,949 in Cumberland.
• Both median household income and per-capita income in Washington County are 41% lower than in Cumberland County. 
• Aroostook, Piscataquis and Washington counties have median household incomes that are more than 20% below the statewide household median income of $37,240. Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties have per-capita incomes that are more than 20% below the statewide per-capita income of $19,533.

Employment

• Maine's average unemployment rate of 4.4% in 2002 was close to the national average of 4.5%.
• Franklin, Oxford, Piscataqus, Somerset and Washington counties had unemployment rates higher than the statewide average, with Washington County's rate of 8.8% being double that of the state as a whole, and three times greater than in Cumberland County. Somerset's rate of 8.4% was not far behind that of Washington.
• Even though the Census includes older, presumably retired people in their work-history figures, in all but four counties (Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Washington), over 60% of households below poverty in Census 2000 report having one or more members working, either full-time or part-time. However, a much higher proportion of households below poverty than above poverty have members who worked less than full-time, year round.

Education

• One of the most important population characteristics impacting economic well-being is the level of educational attainment.
• Although Maine has a somewhat higher percentage of high school graduates than the national average, the state does not stand as well with regard to higher education attainment: 69.8% of Maine's population reports lacking a college degree (Associate or Bachelor's), compared with 61.3% in the other New England states.
• In several counties (Somerset, Piscataquis and Washington), the population lacking a college degree is close to 80%. These are among the counties with the highest poverty rates and lowest per-capita incomes.

Housing

• Maine's housing costs in absolute terms are below national averages both for home-owners and renters. For lower income people, however, housing costs represent a significant portion of the overall household budget.
• The counties with the most unaffordable housing are those that look better on other economic measures such as income and employment. As reported in Census 2000, in Cumberland County, 46.8% of households with incomes under $35,000 are paying more than 35% of monthly income for housing, and in York County 44.4% of such households are in a similar situation.

Benefits and Assistance

• Statewide in fiscal 2001-2002, 10.7% of all households and 8.5% of the total population received Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or food stamps.
• Household participation rates in the TANF/foodstamp programs ranged from less than 7% (Hancock and Lincoln counties) to over 16% (Aroostook, Somerset and Washington counties).
• Somerset and Washington counties each had over 14% of their total county population receiving these benefits, while in Hancock, Sagadahoc and York less than 6% of the population were recipients.
• In fiscal 2001-2002, 9.1% of all households statewide participated in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
• Household participation rates in LIHEAP ranged from under 4% (Cumberland and York counties) to over 17% (Aroostook, Piscataquis and Washington counties).
• LIHEAP serves many elderly households: in Aroostook, Washington, and Franklin counties close to one-quarter or more of all elderly households received LIHEAP.