Demographics
(The section below is taken from "KEYS Counts 2004", a publication that can be downloaded at a link to the right.)
Who are we? What is our community composed of? How have we grown and changed as a community? These are all questions which are answered by demographics, which help us to better understand our communities' make-up. It is important to realize and respect the diversity and similarities of each community; the individual squares of a patchwork quilt. The information below helps us to envision what our quilt might look like today and how it has changed in its appearance since 1990.
Population
- According to the 2000 Census, the total population for the KEYS towns was 35,022. This makes up 19% of the total York County population. York, with 12,854 people, makes up 37% of the KEYS population. Kittery (9,543) makes up 27% of the KEYS population, South Berwick (6,671) is 19% and Eliot (5,954) is 17% of the population.
- The KEYS towns cover 126 square miles and have a population density of 320 persons per square mile. This is much higher than both county (with a population density of 189 persons per square mile) and state with a population density of only 41 persons per square mile).
Change in Total Population
- Every town in our area grew over the past decade, but some more so than others. While Kittery grew by only 1.8%, York experienced a boom and grew by 30.9%. During the 1990s, York County grew by 13.5%, and Maine grew by 3.8%. All of our towns, except Kittery, experienced a larger population growth than the state from 1990-2000.
Total Population by Age
- The out migration of the state's young adults is a problem being faced by all areas of Maine. An unaffordable housing market and the lack of employment in the area offering a livable wage is causing young adults to move out of Maine in search of a more stable and promising economic environment. Eliot was the only town in our area to actually have increased in young adults aged 20-24 throughout the 1990s.
- As young adults are leaving the area, the elderly are flocking to it. York in particular saw more than a 50% increase in the number of elderly (65 and over) over the past decade. This, similar to the trends involving young adults, is true for the county and state as a whole.
Gender
- Our towns, area, county, and state all have slightly higher levels of female persons to male persons. In some cases this difference is very minimal. The KEYS towns together have approximately 18,000 female and 17,000 male citizens.
Ethnicity/Race
- The KEYS communities are 98% white. We have little racial and ethnic diversity within our 4 towns.
- Kittery has the most racial diversity, with a 2% Black/African American population, 1.5% Hispanic/Latino population, nearly 1% Asian, and around .5% American Indian/Native population. These %ages, except for the American Indian population, are higher than both county and state %ages.
- Black/African American and Asian are the top two non-white populations in our communities.
- The top two ethnicities in our area are English and Irish.
Change in Ethnicity/Race
- Although our non-white population remains around 2% of the total population, our area has seen an increase in non-white population over the past decade. York in particular saw a jump of 178% in the non-white population, an increase that is higher than both county and state levels.
Language
- Approximately 1.4% of our population speaks English less than "very well" according to the 2000 Census. The KEYS area breaks down as follows: Kittery 1.1%, Eliot 2.4%, York 0.7%, and South Berwick 1.5%. This is slightly lower than York County (2.4%) and Maine (2%) as a whole.
Unless otherwise noted, graph and chart data are from the U.S Census, 1990 and 2000. If you would like more specific or detailed information about any of the data sources, please call 207-438-9100.