PORTLAND, Maine - New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show Cumberland County to be the fastest-growing county in Maine. Cumberland - already the most populous county in the state - saw its population increase by 0.67 percent in the 12 months between July 2013 and July 2014.
Ben Bolender is chief of the Census Bureau's population estimates branch. "Most of the growth came from domestic and international migration, mostly domestic migration," Bolender says. "So this last year they added about 1,900 people from domestic migrations, so that's from other parts of the state and other parts of the country."
Bolender says eight Maine counties saw their populations shrink over the year, with Washington County seeing the biggest decline, down by nearly 1.2 percent to 38,808.
The overall population of the state meanwhile grew - albeit slightly - by 0.1 percent to 1.33 million.