Portland-Auburn, Maine: Populist market. In 2024, voted D+12%. Republican peak: R+43 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+12MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,052,9192024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,5542024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+40 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Portland-Auburn, MEOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 350,500 | 272,376 | 636,328 | ||
| D | 350,902 | 259,602 | 634,351 | ||
| D | 283,222 | 242,908 | 567,099 | ||
| D | 312,686 | 214,962 | 541,823 | ||
| D | 328,844 | 214,987 | 554,010 | ||
| D | 302,802 | 243,491 | 556,256 | ||
| D | 242,865 | 209,459 | 485,320 | ||
| D | 231,295 | 139,446 | 444,541 | ||
| D | 196,591 | 154,722 | 496,423 | ||
| R | 176,336 | 231,469 | 411,088 | ||
| R | 156,498 | 244,540 | 402,562 | ||
| R | 158,206 | 173,584 | 378,403 | ||
| D | 171,468 | 169,065 | 349,809 | ||
| R | 119,469 | 184,329 | 304,384 | ||
| D | 161,739 | 119,749 | 286,496 | ||
| D | 194,361 | 83,620 | 278,163 | ||
| R | 138,819 | 165,553 | 304,377 | ||
| R | 83,660 | 182,529 | 266,199 | ||
| R | 94,911 | 169,549 | 264,868 | ||
| R | 90,727 | 111,648 | 204,625 | ||
| D | 111,447 | 110,765 | 222,430 | ||
| D | 119,204 | 112,401 | 231,850 | ||
| R | 98,152 | 114,834 | 218,212 | ||
| R | 93,247 | 114,752 | 209,988 | ||
| R | 63,040 | 122,659 | 186,456 | ||
| R | 36,250 | 97,941 | 143,123 | ||
| R | 47,333 | 94,010 | 143,238 | ||
| R | 45,366 | 46,225 | 93,660 | ||
| D | 36,640 | 19,488 | 89,286 | ||
| R | 26,587 | 45,712 | 75,223 | ||
| R | 22,323 | 44,845 | 69,939 | ||
| R | 29,020 | 46,024 | 77,191 | ||
| R | 23,295 | 54,003 | 79,981 | ||
| R | 34,685 | 42,803 | 80,720 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
21.7%
Irish
17.2%
French
11.5%
German
8.0%
Italian
6.1%
American
5.1%
Scottish
4.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 44.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$81,554
Portland-Auburn ranks near the middle of US counties.
Portland-Auburn$81,554
Maine$74,733
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.9%
Working age (18–64)8.8%
Seniors (65+)10.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.5%
Spanish1.0%
Other languages0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 68.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Portland-Auburn market covers roughly half of Maine's population and consistently posts the state's most competitive federal margins, making it a reliable bellwether for statewide outcomes.
The Democratic margin in Portland-Auburn peaked at forty points in 1964. By 1992 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twelve points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $81,554 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Portland-Auburn, Maine — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/500/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Portland-Auburn, Maine vote in 2024?
In 2024, Portland-Auburn, Maine voted Democratic by 12.3 points (D+12), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 636,328 votes cast, 350,500 went Democratic and 272,376 went Republican.
What is Portland-Auburn, Maine's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Portland-Auburn, Maine as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Portland-Auburn, Maine last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Portland-Auburn, Maine voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Portland-Auburn, Maine?
Portland-Auburn, Maine has a population of 1,052,919 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Portland-Auburn, Maine?
Median household income in Portland-Auburn, Maine is $81,554 — above the national median of $80,734. The Maine state median is $74,733.
What is the political history of Portland-Auburn, Maine?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Portland-Auburn, Maine from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.