Map of Maine Counties and Baxter Park
was Maine’s first county, established November 20, 1652, by the Massachusetts act that also incorporated the town of Kittery. The county included all of the land claimed by Massachusetts beyond the Piscataqua River, which now defines the southern boundary of Maine with New Hampshire.
In 1674, the jurisdiction of Massachusetts was extended to Muscongus Bay, near Pemaquid Point in the current town of Bristol. By 1760 its eastern boundary by identified as the St. Croix River, now the border of Washington County with New Brunswick, Canada.
On June 21, 1760, York was divided by adding two new counties within it eastern area: Cumberland and Lincoln. York County now consists of the following: the cities of Biddeford and Saco; and the towns of Action, Alfred, Arundel, Berwick, Buxton, Cornish, Dayton, Eliot, Hollis, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Kittery, Lebanon, Limerick, Limington, Lyman, Newfield, North Berwick, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, Parsonsfield, Sanford, Shapleigh, South Berwick, Waterboro, Wells, and York.
See an 1856 map of the county in the Map Cabinet.
York Couny Courthouse in Alfred (2003)
The town of Alfred is the County Seat, hosting the county government, courthouse, and the county jail.
In 2010, York County was Maine’s second most populous at 15.5% of the state’s total, with a census count of 197,131, a 5.6% increase over 2000.
| People QuickFacts (updated November 4, 2010) |
York County | Maine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population, 2009 estimate | 201,876 | 1,318,301 | |
| Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 | 8.1% | 3.4% | |
| Population estimates base (April 1) 2000 | 186,740 | 1,274,915 | |
| Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2009 | 5.2% | 5.4% | |
| Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2009 | 21.0% | 20.6% | |
| Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2009 | 15.1% | 15.6% | |
| Female persons, percent, 2009 | 51.3% | 51.2% | |
| White persons, percent, 2009 (a) | 97.2% | 96.1% | |
| Black persons, percent, 2009 (a) | 0.7% | 1.2% | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2009 (a) | 0.3% | 0.6% | |
| Asian persons, percent, 2009 (a) | 0.9% | 1.0% | |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2009 (a) | Z | Z | |
| Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2009 | 0.9% | 1.1% | |
| Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2009 (b) | 1.3% | 1.4% | |
| White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2009 | 96.0% | 94.9% | |
| Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over | 58.0% | 59.6% | |
| Foreign born persons, percent, 2000 | 2.8% | 2.9% | |
| Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000 | 9.4% | 7.8% | |
| High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000 | 86.5% | 85.4% | |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000 | 22.9% | 22.9% | |
| Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000 | 32,913 | 237,910 | |
| Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000 | 25.8 | 22.7 | |
| Housing units, 2009 | 105,602 | 704,578 | |
| Homeownership rate, 2000 | 72.6% | 71.6% | |
| Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2000 | 21.6% | 20.3% | |
| Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000 | $122,600 | $98,700 | |
| Households, 2000 | 74,563 | 518,200 | |
| Persons per household, 2000 | 2.47 | 2.39 | |
| Median household income, 2008 | $54,626 | $46,419 | |
| Per capita money income, 1999 | $21,225 | $19,533 | |
| Persons below poverty level, percent, 2008 | 9.4% | 12.6% | |
| Business QuickFacts | York County | Maine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private nonfarm establishments, 2008 | 5,700 | 41,7551 | |
| Private nonfarm employment, 2008 | 55,659 | 509,0931 | |
| Private nonfarm employment, percent change 2000-2008 | 8.0% | 3.5%1 | |
| Nonemployer establishments, 2008 | 16,668 | 113,522 | |
| Total number of firms, 2002 | 19,721 | 135,410 | |
| Black-owned firms, percent, 2002 | F | 0.2% | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002 | F | 0.5% | |
| Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002 | 0.6% | 0.6% | |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002 | F | S | |
| Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002 | F | 0.5% | |
| Women-owned firms, percent, 2002 | 26.6% | 24.0% | |
| Manufacturers shipments, 2002 ($1000) | D | 13,851,915 | |
| Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000) | 592,649 | 10,371,084 | |
| Retail sales, 2002 ($1000) | 1,805,030 | 16,053,515 | |
| Retail sales per capita, 2002 | $9,223 | $12,370 | |
| Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000) | 389,675 | 2,045,841 | |
| Building permits, 2009 | 526 | 3,1211 | |
| Federal spending, 2008 | 1,502,019 | 11,974,3611 | |
| Geography QuickFacts | York County | Maine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area, 2000 (square miles) | 990.92 | 30,861.55 | |
| Persons per square mile, 2000 | 188.4 | 41.3 | |
| FIPS Code | 031 | 23 | |
| Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area: Portland-South Portland-Biddeford |
(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information
F: Fewer than 100 firms
FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data
NA: Not available
S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards
X: Not applicable
Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shownSource: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23/23031.html (accessed April 28, 2011)