Census-designated place · Cumberland County, Maine

Gorham, Maine

Gorham is a census-designated place in Cumberland County, Maine, part of the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area. It has 7,593 residents. Gorham, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 97 out of 100 (very high), ranking #466 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #8 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on primary care physicians (high), high school diploma or higher (high) and gyms and fitness centers (high). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), depression (high) and comfortable days (low).

97Very high

Quality-of-life score: #466 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #8 of 104 in ME
Population: 7,593 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 991.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2328205

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.

Safety84#2,432/15,637
Economy94#1,003/15,631
Housing31#10,331/14,977
Health74#4,091/15,609
Healthcare94#948/15,650
Environment78#3,343/15,453
Education99#179/15,649
Infrastructure81#3,015/15,650
Community96#631/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#267/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Primary care physicians · high168 /100k
99/100Maine 107 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCumberland County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.6%
99/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.8 /10k
99/100Maine 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCumberland County value
Mental health providers · high889 /100k
98/100Maine 586 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCumberland County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high10.3 /10k
95/100Maine 7.2 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCumberland County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.2 µg/m³
95/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCumberland County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high84%
9/100Maine 75%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACumberland County value
Depression · high27.7%
12/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · low23.8%
20/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCumberland County value
Days with unhealthy air · high1.4%
27/100Maine 0.9%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCumberland County value
High ozone days · high2 days
28/100Maine 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCumberland County value
Rent as share of income · high42.6%
33/100Maine 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,759 (2015-2019) → 7,593 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
36.3% (2015-2019) → 59.1% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$69,171 (2015-2019) → $128,190 (2020-2024)
+85%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.4% (2015-2019) → 42.6% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.8% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
21.8 min (2015-2019) → 32.0 min (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Gorham, Maine improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 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

Household income+85%$69,171 → $128,190
Property tax−0.4 points1.39% → 0.99%
Broadband+13 points77.8% → 90.3%

Declined1

Rent / income+16 points26.4% → 42.6%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Gorham, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.8 min2015-2019	32.0 min2020-2024	+10.1 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.4%2015-2019	51.5%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Broadband subscriptions	77.8%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	71%
Effective property tax rate	1.39%2015-2019	0.99%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	84%
High school diploma or higher	97.2%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	71%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3912015-2019	0.3672020-2024	−0.025	Within the margin of error	71%
Median household income	$69,1712015-2019	$128,1902020-2024	+85%	Improved	97%
Rent as share of income	26.4%2015-2019	42.6%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	4%
Rent-burdened households	36.3%2015-2019	59.1%2020-2024	+23 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.0%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	17%

“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 Gorham, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Gorham, 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, Gorham, Maine itself moved −11.6 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

7,593 residents (±835)

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

2,554 households (±322)

Gorham, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k12%†306
$25k–50k8.8%†225
$50k–75k9.9%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,554 households (±322)

Gorham, Maine
Maine share

Own79%2,013
Rent21%†541

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

4,326 workers (±666)

Gorham, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone59%2,545
Carpool4.5%†196
Public transit0.6%†26

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Portland-South Portland, ME

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 Cumberland County, the county holding most of Gorham's residents.

Cumberland County has 12,242 employer establishments, 393 for every 10,000 residents (1.58× the US rate of 248; 1.27× Maine's), with 190,022 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,672. The Census Bureau also counts 33,880 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 12,242; 33,880 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 393; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 190,022
Average annual pay: $65,672; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	900	28.9	1.39×More than typical	13,447	$88,010	1,955
Specialty trade contractors	864	27.7	1.79×More than typical	6,046	$69,283	2,363
Restaurants and other eating places	838	26.9	1.46×More than typical	13,516	$31,470	117
Lessors of real estate	724	23.2	1.89×More than typical	3,179	$63,168	4,503
Construction of buildings	444	14.2	1.88×More than typical	2,229	$80,154	1,019
Services to buildings and dwellings	443	14.2	2.11×More than typical	2,590	$43,289	1,543
Full-service restaurants	411	13.2	1.72×More than typical	8,061	$35,181	42
Offices of other health practitioners	391	12.5	2.06×More than typical	1,805	$50,407	1,317
Building equipment contractors	368	11.8	1.96×More than typical	3,089	$72,084	423
Real estate agents and brokers	350	11.2	2.31×More than typical	464	$78,843	846
Management, scientific and technical consulting	333	10.7	1.59×More than typical	2,197	$105,449	1,747
Limited-service restaurants	263	8.4	1.05×About typical	3,609	$27,226	56

Rank places for an industry Open Cumberland County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 311,645 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 $206.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Gorham, Maine: $27.17 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $206.3K; +17% vs FY2025
Per resident: $27.17; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 80%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$192.7K93%
Department of the Navy$13.6K6.6%

Top recipients

MICROWAVE TECHNIQUES LLC$206.3K100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

106.1KFY2017
43KFY2018
53.8KFY2019
22.7KFY2020
21KFY2021
14.9KFY2022
252.5KFY2023
161.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$190.7K92%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$15.6K7.6%

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

Gorham, Maine's figures are part of those of Cumberland County, ME ($461.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cumberland 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.

Gorham, 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.

Cumberland County98100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Portland-South Portland, ME97

Other cities and towns in Cumberland 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/2328205

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends