City · Hancock County, Maine

Ellsworth, Maine

Ellsworth is a city in Hancock County, Maine. It has 8,657 residents. Ellsworth, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,315 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #33 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), students per teacher (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), distance to an airport (high) and firearm deaths (high).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,315 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #33 of 104 in ME
Population: 8,657 (2020-2024)
Land area: 79 mi²
Density: 109.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2323200

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety72#4,438/15,637
Economy53#7,278/15,631
Housing36#9,550/14,977
Health58#6,612/15,609
Healthcare62#5,922/15,650
Environment85#2,290/15,453
Education87#2,101/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,574/15,650
Community92#1,279/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#330/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ellsworth, Maine ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hancock 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

Violent crime rate · low26 /100k
100/100Maine 93 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHancock County value
Students per teacher · low9.4×
99/100Maine 11.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsHancock County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.1 µg/m³
99/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHancock County value
Restaurants and bars · high22.2 /10k
99/100Maine 10.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHancock County value
Grocery stores · high4.4 /10k
99/100Maine 2.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHancock County value
High school diploma or higher · high95.5%
99/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high26.5 /100k
7/100Maine 18.6 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHancock County value
Distance to an airport · high108 mi
8/100Maine 62 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHancock County value
Firearm deaths · high23.0 /100k
9/100Maine 12.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHancock County value
Comfortable days · low23.3%
10/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHancock County value
Depression · high27.6%
12/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an emergency room · high11.2 mi
13/100Maine 8.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHancock County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
7,991 (2015-2019) → 8,657 (2020-2024)
+8.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.3% (2015-2019) → 94.3% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.6% (2015-2019) → 62.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
11.0 /1k (2021) → 4.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−56%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
30.0% (2015-2019) → 39.3% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,324 (2015-2019) → $77,375 (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Ellsworth, Maine improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++9.4 points30.0% → 39.3%
Household income+45%$53,324 → $77,375
Broadband+12 points82.3% → 94.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Ellsworth, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.5 min2015-2019	24.5 min2020-2024	+2.9 min	Within the margin of error	20%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.0%2015-2019	39.3%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Improved	88%
Broadband subscriptions	82.3%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	69%
Effective property tax rate	1.43%2015-2019	1.31%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	40%
High school diploma or higher	92.8%2015-2019	95.5%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	87%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.4102020-2024	−0.010	Within the margin of error	59%
Median household income	$53,3242015-2019	$77,3752020-2024	+45%	Improved	80%
Poverty rate	9.8%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent as share of income	30.3%2015-2019	32.9%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent-burdened households	50.6%2015-2019	62.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.5%2015-2019	13.0%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	22%

“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 Ellsworth, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ellsworth, 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, Ellsworth, Maine itself moved +2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

8,657 residents (±20)

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

3,731 households (±246)

Ellsworth, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k18%†663
$25k–50k19%727
$50k–75k12%466

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,731 households (±246)

Ellsworth, Maine
Maine share

Own67%2,489
Rent33%1,242

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

4,155 workers (±391)

Ellsworth, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone71%2,960
Carpool13%†552
Public transit1.2%†50

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 Hancock County, the county holding most of Ellsworth's residents.

Hancock County has 2,397 employer establishments, 422 for every 10,000 residents (1.70× the US rate of 248; 1.36× Maine's), with 17,387 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,207. The Census Bureau also counts 8,032 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,397; 8,032 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 422; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 17,387
Average annual pay: $57,207; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	209	36.8	2.00×More than typical	1,141	$61,954	27
Specialty trade contractors	198	34.8	2.25×More than typical	939	$55,297	816
Construction of buildings	146	25.7	3.40×More than typical	578	$49,908	434
Full-service restaurants	114	20	2.61×More than typical	740	$73,995	12
Ambulatory health care services	110	19.3	0.93×About typical	692	$55,004	299
Traveler accommodation	104	18.3	10.1×More than typical	660	$84,648	91
Services to buildings and dwellings	102	17.9	2.66×More than typical	281	$60,676	783
Lessors of real estate	85	14.9	1.21×About typical	220	$52,527	951
Landscaping services	81	14.2	4.07×More than typical	215	$69,293	324
Building equipment contractors	70	12.3	2.05×More than typical	334	$55,686	105
Limited-service restaurants	55	9.7	1.21×About typical	244	$38,586	10
Other specialty trade contractors	51	9	3.57×More than typical	266	$62,635	203

Rank places for an industry Open Hancock County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 56,865 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 $35K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ellsworth, Maine: $4.04 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $35K; −62% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.04; US $1,994
Sole-source: 64%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; 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. Fish and Wildlife Service$29K83%
National Park Service$4,52513%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$1,3033.7%
Department of the Navy$1510.4%

Top recipients

MOORE-CLARK U.S.A., INC.$13.7K39%
FEDERAL BUILDERS LLC$10.1K29%
HEDEFINE ENGINEERING & DESIGN INC$4,52513%
DEAD RIVER COMPANY, LLC$3,2989.4%
CLEAN HARBORS ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC$1,7395.0%

Spending by fiscal year

112.7KFY2017
78.6KFY2018
328.3KFY2019
291KFY2020
31.1KFY2021
152.8KFY2022
45.9KFY2023
711.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Animal food manufacturing · 3111$13.7K39%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$10.1K29%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$4,52513%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$3,2989.4%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$1,7395.0%
Building equipment contractors · 2382

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 Ellsworth, Maine, so they do not add up across cities.

Ellsworth, Maine's figures are part of those of Hancock County, ME ($36.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Hancock 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.

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

House

Jared F. GoldenD-ME-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 70%Missed 2.8%

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.

Hancock County89100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Hancock 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/2323200

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends