Kennebec County, Maine

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Kennebec County, Maine

Map
Location in the state of Maine
Maine's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded	1799
Seat	Augusta
Area - Total - Land - Water	2,247 km² (951 mi²) 2,247 km² (868 mi²) 217 km² (84 mi²), 8.79%
Population - (2000) - Density	117,114 135/sq mi (52/km²)
Website: www.kennebeccounty.org

Kennebec County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2000, the population was 117,114. Its county seat is Augusta ⁶. The center of population of Maine is located in Kennebec County, in the city of Augusta [1].

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent Counties
2 Demographics
3 Cities and towns
4 Economy
5 Education
6 Religion
7 Politics

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,464 km² (951 mi²). 2,247 km² (868 mi²) of it is land and 217 km² (84 mi²) of it (8.79%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 117,114 people, 47,683 households, and 31,327 families residing in the county. The population density was 52/km² (135/mi²). There were 56,364 housing units at an average density of 25/km² (65/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.45% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 47,683 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,498, and the median income for a family was $43,814. Males had a median income of $32,279 versus $24,032 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,520. About 8.50% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

The county also includes the territory of Unity, which has no major towns.

[edit] Economy

Kennebec County's economy has traditionally been industrial. A large amount of Paper and textiles were produced, and mills sprung up all along the Kennebec river. With the advent of NAFTA, GATT, and PNTR with China, many of these mills have closed. Farmeres have also been gradually leaving as well. However, there is some promise in light industry returning. However, the county has a problem in that many new people are coming, but solely for welfare benefits. This means the tax base is not increasing but welfare rolls are. Despite this, employment increased by 1.8% in 2006 (in 2005, that number was 1.5%). The median house hold income is currently $36,498. The unemployment rate is currently at 4.2% (lower than it has been in a year).

[edit] Education

There are three colleges: Colby and Thomas (both in Waterville), and the University of Maine at Augusta. There is a Catholic Highschool in Waterville, and there are 19 school districts (however, 4 are consolidated ones). In China Maine, there is no Highschool, but a private school (Erskine acedemy) exists, and the town pays for students tuition if they choose to attend. Students from Vassalboro can pick from one of five school districts (Augusta, Winslow, Waterville, Messalonskee, or Lawrence which is in Somerset county). However, many towns have local public highschools.

[edit] Religion

There are many churches in Kennebec county, the largest being: Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Congregationalist, Unitarian, Church of the Nazarene, Church of Christ, Adventist, and there is even a community of Mormons. However, the largest single denomination are Roman Catholics.

[edit] Politics

Kennebec County is a fairly liberal County. While the more rural areas are Republican, the bigger cities are heavily Democratic. Democrats have won this County since 2000 in the Presidential race. This is probably due to the influx of Catholic Candian immigrants, who were disgusted by Republican Governor Owen Brewster's anti-Catholic Klan ties, who tended to vote Democrat. Also, the large number of labor unions influenced this too.

	State of Maine Augusta (capital)
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Regions	Down East \| Highlands \| Mid Coast \| North Woods \| Penobscot Bay \| Southern Coast \| Western Mountains
Counties	Androscoggin \| Aroostook \| Cumberland \| Franklin \| Hancock \| Kennebec \| Knox \| Lincoln \| Oxford \| Penobscot \| Piscataquis \| Sagadahoc \| Somerset \| Waldo \| Washington \| York
Cities	Auburn \| Augusta \| Bangor \| Bath \| Belfast \| Biddeford \| Brewer \| Calais \| Caribou \| Eastport \| Ellsworth \| Gardiner \| Hallowell \| Lewiston \| Old Town \| Portland \| Presque Isle \| Rockland \| Saco \| South Portland \| Waterville \| Westbrook
Largest towns	Brunswick \| Cape Elizabeth \| Falmouth \| Gorham \| Kennebunk \| Kittery \| Lisbon \| Orono \| Sanford \| Scarborough \| Skowhegan \| Standish \| Topsham \| Wells \| Windham \| Winslow \| York