Penobscot County, Maine

Penobscot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2010 census, the population was 153,923. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on 15 February 1816 from a portion of Hancock County when the area was still part of Massachusetts.

Penobscot County comprises the Bangor, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,557 square miles (9,210 km²), of which 3,397 square miles (8,800 km²) is land and 160 square miles (410 km²) (4.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 144,919 people, 58,096 households, and 37,820 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 66,847 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.60% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.8% were of English, 17.3% United States or American, 14.0% French, 13.0% Irish and 6.7% French Canadian ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.8% spoke English and 2.3% French as their first language.