Kennebec County, Maine

Kennebec County is a county in Maine, United States, in the south-central part of the state along the Kennebec River. It had a population of 123,642 at the 2020 census, an estimated 129,067 by 2024, and covers 952 square miles (2,470 km2) centred near 44°25′N 69°46′W.

Augusta is the county seat and the state capital; its postal code is 04330. The county holds 4 cities, 25 incorporated towns and one unorganized township, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 23011.

Towns & Villages in Kennebec County

Kennebec County has 30 named places on record: 4 cities, 25 incorporated towns and Unity Township, an unorganized territory with no town government of its own. Winslow, Sidney, West Gardiner, Pittston, Chelsea and Benton have no post office of their own; mail there is delivered under a neighboring city’s ZIP code, noted in the table below.

ZIP Codes

• 04330 — Augusta (also serves Sidney and Chelsea; PO box ZIPs 04332 and 04338 also cover Augusta)
• 04901 — Waterville (also serves Winslow and Benton; 04903 is a Waterville PO box ZIP)
• 04345 — Gardiner (also serves Pittston and West Gardiner; 04359 is a Gardiner PO box ZIP)
• 04963 — Oakland (also serves Rome)
• 04364 — Winthrop
• 04989 — Vassalboro (East Vassalboro, 04935, and North Vassalboro, 04962, are PO box only)
• 04358 — China (the post office sits in the South China village)
• 04350 — Litchfield
• 04259 — Monmouth (North Monmouth carries its own ZIP, 04265)
• 04927 — Clinton
• 04917 — Belgrade (Belgrade Lakes village has its own ZIP, 04918)
• 04344 — Farmingdale
• 04363 — Windsor
• 04355 — Readfield
• 04347 — Hallowell
• 04351 — Manchester
• 04910 — Albion
• 04352 — Mount Vernon
• 04346 — Randolph
• 04349 — Fayette (the post office is named for the Kents Hill village)
• 04284 — Wayne
• 04360 — Vienna

Unity Township, the county’s only unorganized territory, has no local post office or ZIP code of its own; it lies isolated in the county’s northeast corner, well away from any of the 29 organized municipalities.

Geography

The Kennebec River runs the length of the county from north to south, passing through Waterville, Winslow, Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale, Randolph and Gardiner on its way to the coast. Of the county’s 952 square miles, 868 are land and 84 are water, about 8.8 percent — a share driven mostly by the Belgrade Lakes chain in the northwest, where Great Pond and Long Pond sit inside the Kennebec Highlands, a hilly, forested block that is the county’s highest ground.

Somerset County lies to the north, Waldo County to the east, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties to the south, Androscoggin County to the southwest, and Franklin County to the northwest. Somerset County has no live profile on this site to link to yet. Waldo County, Lincoln County, Sagadahoc County, Androscoggin County and Franklin County all border Kennebec directly.

Demographics

Kennebec County had 123,642 residents at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 129,067. Augusta and Waterville are the two largest communities, together holding well over a quarter of the county’s population. Median household income runs about $69,077, below Maine’s statewide figure of $73,733 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 142 people per square mile of land at the 2020 count, rising to about 149 per square mile on the latest estimate.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 10,190 people, followed by educational services at 7,878 and retail trade at 7,808. MaineGeneral Health, the region’s dominant hospital system, and Central Maine Power, the state’s largest electric utility, both keep major operations in Augusta, where state government itself is also a leading employer — Augusta has been the seat of Maine’s government since the legislature voted to move it there in 1827. Waterville is a college town: Colby College and Thomas College both sit inside the city, and the University of Maine at Augusta runs its main campus in Augusta. Walmart and T-Mobile also rank among the county’s larger employers, and FirstPark, a regional business park in Oakland, hosts a cluster of manufacturing and technology tenants.

History

Massachusetts, which then governed the District of Maine, organized Kennebec County on 20 February 1799 from parts of Cumberland and Lincoln counties. The name comes from the Eastern Abenaki word kinipekw, meaning “large body of still water, large bay,” referring to the river the county straddles.

Augusta won out over Portland, Brunswick and Hallowell as Maine’s capital in 1827, though the legislature kept meeting in Portland until the Maine State House, designed by Charles Bulfinch, was finished in 1832. The U.S. government built the Kennebec Arsenal on the riverbank at Augusta in 1828 to defend the border with British-held Canada, a tension that ran high in the region through the following decade.

Getting There

Interstate 95 runs the length of the county, with exits serving Augusta and Waterville directly; the Maine Turnpike ends at Augusta’s Exit 109. Route 201, Route 27, Route 17, Route 9, Route 3 and Route 202 also cross the county.

• Portland — about 55 miles south
• Bangor — about 60 miles northeast
• Lewiston — about 25 miles southwest
• Rockland — about 35 miles southeast

Portland International Jetport, the nearest major commercial airport, sits roughly 55 miles south of Augusta. Augusta State Airport handles general aviation and charter traffic close to downtown. The nearest Amtrak station is Portland’s Transportation Center on the Downeaster line; a long-studied extension north to Augusta and Waterville was found not feasible in a 2023 review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Kennebec County located?
It sits in south-central Maine along the Kennebec River, bordered by Somerset, Waldo, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Androscoggin and Franklin counties.

What is the population of Kennebec County?
123,642 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 129,067 by 2024.

How big is Kennebec County?
952 square miles (2,470 km2), of which 868 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Kennebec County?
Augusta, which has also been Maine’s state capital since 1827.

How many towns and cities are in Kennebec County?
Four cities — Augusta, Waterville, Gardiner and Hallowell — plus 25 incorporated towns and Unity Township, an unorganized territory.

What ZIP codes does Kennebec County use?
04330 for Augusta and its neighbors Sidney and Chelsea; 04901 for Waterville, Winslow and Benton; 04345 for Gardiner, Pittston and West Gardiner; and separate codes for each of the county’s other towns, listed above.

What is Kennebec County known for?
Being home to Maine’s state capital, Augusta, and to Colby College and Thomas College in Waterville.

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