BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2022
Maine’s largest cities lost population in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the state saw rapid growth by its standards. The diverging trend illustrates the complexity of Maine’s pandemic population boom. The state added nearly 10,000 residents on net between 2020 and 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But data released this spring show the two biggest cities of Portland and Lewiston, along with much of Aroostook County, still lost population during that period.