Maine Is More Rural Than Almost Every Other State in America
I’ve spent my entire life in the suburbs around Portland, watching the region grow and change dramatically. It may be nowhere near the size of a major metropolitan area, but it certainly doesn’t feel rural anymore. Sure, there are still pockets of farmland, forests, and wide-open spaces, but they seem to be increasingly surrounded by new development.
Heck, at the rate we’re going, there will probably be another condo development built by the time you finish reading this article. And it just finished.
Still, Greater Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Bangor, and other populous areas make up just a small slice of Maine’s pie. The majority of the state is basically just pine trees and wildlife. I mean, we still have territories named T2R9, you’re not going to find that in every state. Maine is still a very rural place. From acres of farmland to small communities where everyone knows your name, the state has managed to maintain its roots over the decades.
So, just how rural is Maine? According to the popular pop culture site America's Health Rankings, it’s very rural. In fact, the site claims Maine is the second most rural state, only trailing Vermont. The site based its findings on metrics from the U.S. Census.
According to the U.S. Census classifies any rural area as any region outside of an urban area. An urban area is defined as a region with 50,000 people or more, or what’s known as an urban cluster—an area with a population between 2,500 and 49,999.
Considering those definitions, it’s easy to see how Maine is certainly rural. You can't say there’s a whole heck of a lot of urban areas or clusters around here.
So, How Rural is Maine?
In fact, according to the data, Maine’s rural population makes up 61.5% of the total. That is an absolutely huge number.
Like I said earlier, Vermont leads the way in the report, with a rural population of a balmy 66.1%.
The rest of the top five isn’t surprising: West Virginia, Mississippi, and Montana are all states you’d expect to see on the list. Though personally, I would’ve expected Wyoming and the Dakotas to be strong contenders as well.
READ MORE: National Travel Site Names Maine’s Bold Coast Among America’s Best
What is the Least Rural State in the Nation?
And the least rural state? That title goes to California. While the state does have vast remote areas, the majority of its population lives in and around major metropolitan regions.
You can read more about the methodology here and check out the rankings here.
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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka
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