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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
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Why This Indicator Matters
Having an overall count by age group and county helps understand issues of access and service use by county. Seeing trends over time of populations in age groups can pinpoint counties that are gaining or losing population.
What the data shows
For Maine as a whole, the child population had been declining each year since 2016, except for in both 2021 and 2022, when there were more children than in 2019 or 2020.
Looking 10 years back, the number of children has continued to decline each and every year. There were 249,052 children in Maine in 2023, down from 261,276 in 2013. For children under age 5, there were 65,014 children in 2013 compared to 61,645 in 2023. For children ages 5-17, there were 196,262 children in 2013, compared to 187,407 in 2023.
Looking at 5 years instead of 10 years, between 2018 and 2023, there were 1,053 fewer children overall, 1,584 more children ages 5-17 and 2,637 fewer children ages 0-4.
At the county level, 6 out of the 16 counties had a gain in population of children. These were: Piscataquis, Penobscot, Lincoln, Kennebec, Cumberland, Aroostook. 10 out of 16 counties had a loss in child populations. These were: York, Washington, Waldo, Somerset, Sagadahoc, Oxford, Knox, Hancock, Franklin, Androscoggin.
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What the data shows
For Maine as a whole, the child population had been declining each year since 2016, except for in both 2021 and 2022, when there were more children than in 2019 or 2020.
Looking 10 years back, the number of children has continued to decline each and every year. There were 249,052 children in Maine in 2023, down from 261,276 in 2013. For children under age 5, there were 65,014 children in 2013 compared to 61,645 in 2023. For children ages 5-17, there were 196,262 children in 2013, compared to 187,407 in 2023.
Looking at 5 years instead of 10 years, between 2018 and 2023, there were 1,053 fewer children overall, 1,584 more children ages 5-17 and 2,637 fewer children ages 0-4.
At the county level, 6 out of the 16 counties had a gain in population of children. These were: Piscataquis, Penobscot, Lincoln, Kennebec, Cumberland, Aroostook. 10 out of 16 counties had a loss in child populations. These were: York, Washington, Waldo, Somerset, Sagadahoc, Oxford, Knox, Hancock, Franklin, Androscoggin.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The number of children under 18 by the following age groups: birth to under age 5 years old; ages 5 through 17; and total under age 18.
The age group of birth to under age 5 years old means up until age 4 and 364 days and total under 18 means up until age 17 and 364 days.
The age group of birth to under age 5 years old means up until age 4 and 364 days and total under 18 means up until age 17 and 364 days.
Data Source
Last Updated
February 2025