Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County is a county in Maine, United States, on the state’s southern coast around
Casco Bay. It had a population of 303,069 at the 2020 census, an estimated 317,222 by 2025, and
covers 835 square miles (2,160 km2) of land centred near 43°49′N 70°20′W — making it Maine’s
most populous county by a wide margin.

Portland is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its main postal code is 04101. The
county holds 3 cities and 25 towns, all fully incorporated — Cumberland County has no
unorganized territory — and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 23005.

Towns & Villages in Cumberland County

Cumberland County has 28 municipalities on record: 3 cities and 25 towns. Every acre of the
county sits inside one of them; unlike Maine’s northern counties, there is no unorganized
territory here. Several of the larger towns also contain named villages — Cumberland
Foreside, North Bridgton, South Casco, Steep Falls and South Freeport among them — which are
postal names within a town rather than separate governments; they appear in the ZIP Codes section
below.

Three of these towns are recent secessions from a larger neighbor, and it explains a few odd
borders. Chebeague Island split from Cumberland in 2007 after 184 years as part of that town, over
a dispute about school funding. Long Island broke away from Portland in 1993 in a fight over
property taxes. Frye Island, a seasonal community entirely on an island in Sebago Lake, was part
of Standish until it incorporated on its own in 1998.

ZIP Codes

• 04101–04104, 04108–04109 — Portland (also serves 04112, 04116 and 04122–04124, Portland PO box and business ZIPs)
• 04106, 04116 — South Portland
• 04092, 04098 — Westbrook
• 04011 — Brunswick
• 04070, 04074 — Scarborough
• 04062, 04082 — Windham
• 04038 — Gorham
• 04105 — Falmouth
• 04084 — Standish (also serves 04085, Steep Falls)
• 04107 — Cape Elizabeth
• 04096 — Yarmouth
• 04032–04034 — Freeport
• 04021 — Cumberland Center (also serves 04110, Cumberland Foreside)
• 04039 — Gray
• 04260 — New Gloucester
• 04009 — Bridgton (also serves 04057, North Bridgton)
• 04079 — Harpswell (also serves 04003, Bailey Island, and 04066, Orr’s Island)
• 04071 — Raymond
• 04097 — North Yarmouth
• 04055 — Naples
• 04015 — Casco (also serves 04077, South Casco)
• 04040 — Harrison
• 04029 — Sebago
• 04069 — Pownal
• 04024 — Baldwin (East Baldwin; also serves 04091, West Baldwin)
• 04017 — Chebeague Island
• 04050 — Long Island

Frye Island has no ZIP code of its own; residents and the seasonal ferry from Raymond use
Raymond’s 04071. The island is only reachable by boat and sits vacant from November through April,
when ferry service stops for the ice.

Geography

Cumberland County straddles the boundary between Maine’s coastal lowlands and its Lakes
Region foothills. Of its 1,217 square miles of total area, 835 are land and 382 are water —
about 31 percent, the highest water share of any inland Maine county, driven by Casco Bay’s
scatter of islands and the county’s western lakes. Sebago Lake, Maine’s deepest and second
largest, sits on the Standish–Sebago–Raymond line and supplies drinking water to most of
greater Portland. Casco Bay itself holds the inhabited islands of Peaks, Chebeague, Long, Great
Diamond, Cliff and Cushing, most of them part of Portland or one of the smaller island towns.

Androscoggin County lies to the north, Oxford County to the northwest, Sagadahoc County to the
northeast, and York County to the southwest. Androscoggin County, Oxford County and Sagadahoc County all border Cumberland
directly; York County does too, though it has no page on this site yet.

Demographics

Cumberland County had a population of 303,069 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 317,222 residents by 2025. Portland and South Portland are by far the two largest
communities, together holding almost a third of the county’s population. Median household
income runs about $95,677 (2024 ACS estimate), well above Maine’s statewide figure of $73,733
(2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 363 people per square mile of land, the
highest of any Maine county by a wide margin, reflecting the county’s position as the core of
the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan area.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 28,968 people,
followed by professional, scientific and technical services at 18,823 and retail trade at 18,727.
The county serves as Maine’s economic and industrial center and hosts corporate headquarters for
onsemi, IDEXX Laboratories, Unum and TD Bank, alongside the Port of Portland and the Maine Mall in
South Portland. Freeport is built around outlet and specialty retail anchored by the L.L.Bean flagship
store, open around the clock. The county’s biggest annual event is the Yarmouth Clam Festival, held
the third weekend of July since 1965, which draws around 120,000 visitors to a town of under 9,000.

History

The Massachusetts General Court, then governing the Province of Massachusetts Bay, formed
Cumberland County on 1 November 1760, carving it out of York County. It was named for Prince
William, Duke of Cumberland, a son of King George II. Portland, then still called Falmouth, became
the county seat and was set off as its own town in 1786, later renamed for the Isle of Portland off
the English coast.

On 4–5 July 1866, a fire that started near a boat house on the Portland waterfront —
likely sparked by a firecracker or a dropped cigar — burned through the night and destroyed
about 1,800 buildings, leaving roughly 10,000 people homeless and killing four. It remains one of
the largest urban fires in 19th-century American history and reshaped the city’s downtown, which
was rebuilt largely in brick over the following decade.

Getting There

Interstate 295 runs the length of the county’s coastal towns, from Scarborough through South
Portland, Portland, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport and into Brunswick, before rejoining Interstate 95
farther north. Interstate 95 itself (the Maine Turnpike) crosses the county’s western side
through Gorham and Westbrook. US Route 1 and US Route 302 also run through the county.

• Lewiston — about 30 miles north
• Augusta — about 55 miles north
• Biddeford — about 15 miles south
• Bangor — about 115 miles northeast

Portland International Jetport, two miles west of downtown Portland (with part of its runway in
South Portland), is Maine’s busiest airport, handling about 2.44 million passengers in 2024.
Amtrak’s Downeaster serves the Portland Transportation Center, the busiest rail station in Maine,
plus a flag stop at Freeport, on its route between Brunswick and Boston.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Cumberland County located?
It sits on Maine’s southern coast around Casco Bay, bordered by Androscoggin, Oxford, Sagadahoc
and York counties.

What is the population of Cumberland County?
303,069 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 317,222 — the most populous county in
Maine.

How big is Cumberland County?
835 square miles (2,160 km2) of land, plus 382 square miles of water, for 1,217 square miles
total.

What is the county seat of Cumberland County?
Portland, Maine’s largest city, has been the county seat since the county formed in 1760.

How many towns and cities are in Cumberland County?
Twenty-eight municipalities — three cities (Portland, South Portland and Westbrook) and 25
towns, with no unorganized territory anywhere in the county.

What ZIP codes does Cumberland County use?
Portland alone spans 04101 through 04124; other main codes include 04106 (South Portland), 04092
(Westbrook), 04011 (Brunswick) and 04074 (Scarborough).

What is Cumberland County known for?
Portland’s working waterfront and the 1866 Great Fire, Sebago Lake, the Casco Bay islands, and
Freeport’s L.L.Bean-anchored outlet shopping.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Maine.