LEWISTON — For the first time in 10 years, Mainers have gotten official numbers that describe how the demographic makeup of our communities are changing, and those numbers show the state has gotten more colorful.
A diverse group of teenagers play basketball in Kennedy Park in downtown Lewiston on Wednesday. Playing ball at left are: Sean St. Amand, Justin Jackson and Ron Holmes. Playing at right are: Duane Thomas, center with arm out, Hassan Abukar and Marcus White. James Robertson and an unidentified teen play in the background.
As expected, the state became more racially diverse since 2000, with the non-white population increasing 37 percent, from 3 percent of the total population to almost 5 percent. That change was mostly seen in urban centers like Lewiston and Portland. In 2000, Lewiston was 95 percent white; in 2010, the city was 86 percent white and saw an 828 percent increase in its black and African American population.
Maine lost the distinction it held in 2000 of being the whitest state in the nation to Vermont, by only .07 percent (95.22 percent for Maine versus 95.29 percent white for Vermont).
According to the official numbers, Lewiston went from 383 black or African American people in 2000 to 3,174 in 2010. Auburn went from 137 to 570.
The populations of both Lewiston and Auburn remained about the same as they were 10 years ago. Lewiston’s increased 2.53 percent, while Auburn’s fell .7 percent, maintaining their rankings as the second and fifth most populated cities in the state, respectively.
The state as a whole grew 4.2 percent in the past 10 years to more than 1.3 million people.
Maine's eastern- and northern-most counties continued to lose people over the past decade. Washington County lost 3.2 percent of its population from 2000 to 2010. Aroostook County in far northern Maine saw its population shrink by 2.8 percent.
Waldo County was the fastest-growing county for the decade with a 6.9 percent increase. Penobscot County grew by 6.2 percent and Cumberland County grew by 6 percent.
Of the top 20 municipalities in the state, Gorham, Windham and Orono were the fast-growing.
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