List of counties in Maine

Map of Maine's counties

This is a list of the sixteen counties in the U.S. state of Maine. Prior to statehood, Maine was officially part of the state of Massachusetts and was called the District of Maine. Maine was granted statehood on March 15, 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise. Nine of the sixteen counties had their borders defined while Maine was still part of Massachusetts, and hence are older than the state itself. Even after 1820, the exact location of the northern border of Maine was disputed with England, until the question was settled and the northern counties took their final, official form by treaty in 1845. Almost all of Aroostook County was disputed land until the treaty was signed.

No new counties have been created since 1860, when Knox County, Maine and Sagadahoc County, Maine were created. The most populous counties tend to be located in the southeastern portion of the state, along the Atlantic seaboard. The largest counties in terms of land area are inland. Maine's county names derive from a mix of British, American, and Native American sources, reflecting Maine's pre-colonial, colonial, and national heritage.

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Maine's code is 23, which when combined with any county code would be written as 23XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

List

County	FIPS Code	County Seat	Created	Origin	Etymology	Population (2000)	Area	Map
Androscoggin County	001	Auburn	1854	From parts of Cumberland County, Kennebec County, and Lincoln County	The Androscoggin Native American tribe.	103,793	497 mi² (1,287 km²)
Aroostook County	003	Houlton	1839	From parts of Penobscot County, and Washington County	A Native American word meaning beautiful river.	73,938	6,829 sq mi (17,687 km2)
Cumberland County	005	Portland	1761	As Cumberland County, Massachusetts from part of York County	Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II of Great Britain.	265,612	1,217 sq mi (3,152 km2)
Franklin County	007	Farmington	1838	From parts of Kennebec County, Oxford County, and Somerset County	Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father, scientist, printer, and diplomat.	29,467	1,744 sq mi (4,517 km2)
Hancock County	009	Ellsworth	1790	As Hancock County, Massachusetts, from part of Lincoln County	John Hancock (1737 – 1793), President of the Continental Congress and United States in Congress Assembled Signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation..	51,791	2,351 sq mi (6,089 km2)
Kennebec County	011	Augusta	1799	As Kennebec County, Massachusetts from part of Lincoln County	The Kennebec River in Maine.	117,114	951 sq mi (2,463 km2)
Knox County	013	Rockland	1860	From parts of Lincoln County and Waldo County	Henry Knox (1750 – 1806), the first United States Secretary of War (1789 - 1794), who lived in Thomaston, Maine.	39,618	1,142 sq mi (2,958 km2)
Lincoln County	015	Wiscasset	1760	As Lincoln County, Massachusetts from part of York County	The city of Lincoln, England.	33,616	700 sq mi (1,813 km2)
Oxford County	017	Paris	1805	As Oxford County, Massachusetts from parts of Cumberland County and York County	Probably named for Oxford, Massachusetts.	54,755	2,175 sq mi (5,633 km2)
Penobscot County	019	Bangor	1816	As Penobscot County, Massachusetts from part of Hancock County	The Penobscot Native American tribe.	144,919	3,556 sq mi (9,210 km2)
Piscataquis County	021	Dover-Foxcroft	1838	From parts of Penobscot County and Somerset County	An Abenaki word meaning rapid waters.	17,235	4,377 sq mi (11,336 km2)
Sagadahoc County	023	Bath	1860	From part of Lincoln County	A Native American word meaning mouth of big river.	35,214	370 sq mi (958 km2)
Somerset County	025	Skowhegan	1809	As Somerset County, Massachusetts from parts of Kennebec County	The county of Somerset in England.	50,888	4,095 sq mi (10,606 km2)
Waldo County	027	Belfast	1827	From parts of Hancock County, Kennebec County and Lincoln County	Samuel Waldo, a colonial soldier in the siege of Louisbourg in 1745.	36,280	853 sq mi (2,209 km2)
Washington County	029	Machias	1790	As Washington County, Massachusetts from part of Lincoln County	George Washington, the first President of the United States.	33,941	3,255 sq mi (8,430 km2)
York County	031	Alfred	1652	As Yorkshire County, Massachusetts from the southern part of the District of Maine. Renamed York County by Massachusetts in 1668	King James II of England, earlier Duke of York.	186,742	1,271 sq mi (3,292 km2)