Census-designated place · Knox County, Maine

Camden, Maine

Camden is a census-designated place in Knox County, Maine. It has 3,682 residents. Camden, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 91 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,383 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #23 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), home price to income ratio (high) and depression (high).

91Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,383 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #23 of 104 in ME
Population: 3,682 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 978.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2309690

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety77#3,653/15,637
Economy54#7,227/15,631
Housing31#10,333/14,977
Health66#5,259/15,609
Healthcare88#1,953/15,650
Environment97#515/15,453
Education94#924/15,649
Infrastructure68#4,978/15,650
Community96#665/15,651
Leisure & amenities97#395/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Camden, Maine ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Knox County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Preventable hospital stays · low1,152 /100k
99/100Maine 2,172 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKnox County value
High school diploma or higher · high97.0%
99/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Hot days · low1 days
98/100Maine 2 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationKnox County value
Students per teacher · low10.0×
98/100Maine 11.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsKnox County value
Public libraries · high3.9 /10k
98/100Maine 1.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesKnox County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.7 µg/m³
98/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKnox County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low22.8%
6/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationKnox County value
Home price to income ratio · high6.3×
10/100Maine 4.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Depression · high27.8%
11/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Injury deaths · high127 /100k
11/100Maine 113 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKnox County value
Drought exposure · high82%
11/100Maine 75%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAKnox County value
Flu vaccinations · low34.0%
15/100Maine 41.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKnox County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
3,468 (2015-2019) → 3,682 (2020-2024)
+6.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Average commute timeWorsening
14.8 min (2015-2019) → 23.8 min (2020-2024)
+60%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateImproving
16.2% (2015-2019) → 5.3% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.2% (2015-2019) → 3.4% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
56.3% (2015-2019) → 46.8% (2020-2024)
−9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.0% (2015-2019) → 93.0% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Camden, Maine improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+9 points84.0% → 93.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Camden, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.8 min2015-2019	23.8 min2020-2024	+8.9 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	53.3%2015-2019	58.0%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Broadband subscriptions	84.0%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+9 points	Improved	55%
Effective property tax rate	1.17%2015-2019	1.16%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	96.0%2015-2019	97.0%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Home price to income ratio	5.5×2015-2019	6.3×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4772015-2019	0.4242020-2024	−0.053	Within the margin of error	85%
Median household income	$63,6832015-2019	$78,7882020-2024	+24%	Within the margin of error	41%
Poverty rate	12.7%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	56.3%2015-2019	46.8%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	81%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Camden, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Camden, Maine in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Camden, Maine itself moved +2.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,682 residents (±421)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,708 households (±227)

Camden, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k15%†257
$25k–50k18%†312
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,708 households (±227)

Camden, Maine
Maine share

Own69%1,187
Rent31%†521

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,361 workers (±311)

Camden, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone47%†641
Carpool18%†250
Public transit0.0%

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Knox County, the county holding most of Camden's residents.

Knox County has 1,823 employer establishments, 444 for every 10,000 residents (1.79× the US rate of 248; 1.44× Maine's), with 14,502 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,646. The Census Bureau also counts 5,949 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,823; 5,949 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 444; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 14,502
Average annual pay: $52,646; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Knox County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	143	34.8	2.25×More than typical	590	$56,005	592
Restaurants and other eating places	108	26.3	1.43×More than typical	1,030	$38,401	14
Ambulatory health care services	91	22.2	1.06×About typical	573	$64,583	231
Lessors of real estate	80	19.5	1.58×More than typical	209	$57,378	523
Construction of buildings	79	19.2	2.54×More than typical	352	$58,543	303
Full-service restaurants	63	15.3	2.00×More than typical	614	$46,103	6
Building equipment contractors	57	13.9	2.31×More than typical	145	$53,917	91
Services to buildings and dwellings	57	13.9	2.06×More than typical	245	$43,343	462
Traveler accommodation	48	11.7	6.47×More than typical	431	$42,759	24
Automotive repair and maintenance	45	11	2.18×More than typical	153	$39,523	69
Landscaping services	39	9.5	2.71×More than typical	184	$47,179	215
Real estate agents and brokers	38	9.3	1.90×More than typical	40	$76,850	100

Rank places for an industry Open Knox County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 41,077 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3,949 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Camden, Maine: $1.07 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,949
Per resident: $1.07; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$3,949100%

Top recipients

TOM HEDSTROM ELECTRIC, P.C.$3,949100%

Spending by fiscal year

7.8KFY2017
0FY2022
3.9KFY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property$3,949100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$3,949100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Camden, Maine, so they do not add up across cities.

Camden, Maine's figures are part of those of Knox County, ME ($837.9K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Camden is mostly in Knox County.

See federal money in Knox County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Camden, Maine is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Chellie PingreeD-ME-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Knox County95100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Knox County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2309690

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends