Washington County, Maine

A county in Maine, ranked 14 of 16 by population.

CountyFIPS 23029

Within Maine
Washington County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Machias, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
31,334
+243 (+0.8%) since 2020
Land area
2,563
square miles. A further 21.3% of the total area is water
Population density
12.2
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Machias
Seat of county government.
Established
1790
235 years ago
Largest city
Calais city
Population 3,083.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Washington County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Washington County, Maine from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 527 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Washington County ranks

Position among the 16 counties of Maine, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MaineNationally
Population31,33414th of 161,412th of 3,144
Land area2,563 sq mi5th of 16212th of 3,144
Population density12.2 per sq mi14th of 162,493rd of 3,144
Median household income$56,02416th of 162,404th of 3,143

Full data for Washington County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population31,334Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202031,091Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?31,090Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area2,563 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area694.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area3,258 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?12.2 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$56,024American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$161,800American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age48.6American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households14,187American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units21,726American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-249
270 births, 519 deaths
Net migration
+117
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 3 areas bordering Washington County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Hancock CountyMaine72 mi57,171
Penobscot CountyMaine32 mi157,967
Aroostook CountyMaine14 mi66,609

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 16 counties of Maine

Open the interactive Maine county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.