56,946 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.6% since 2020)
1,587 square miles of land · 36 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
30 active community water systems list Hancock County in the area they serve, reporting 19,732 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| TOWN OF BAR HARBOR- WATER DIVISION surface water · local government · ME0090120 | 4,443 served |
| ELLSWORTH WATER DEPARTMENT surface water · local government · ME0090520 | 3,910 served |
| SOUTHWEST HARBOR WATER & SEWER DISTRICT surface water · local government · ME0091490 | 2,480 served |
| MAINE WATER COMPANY BUCKSPORT DIVISION surface water · private · ME0090280 | 1,700 served |
| MOUNT DESERT WATER DIST NORTH surface water · local government · ME0091140 | 1,623 served |
| CASTINE WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · ME0090330 | 983 served |
| MOUNT DESERT WATER DIST -SEAL surface water · local government · ME0091420 | 865 served |
| WINTER HARBOR WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · ME0091630 | 700 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 61 people were held in Hancock County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 180 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 8.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
24 school districts have their office in Hancock County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $26.4 million — $25.2 million to run schools, about $19,004 per student, plus $472,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.3 million local (mostly property tax), $11.1 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.9 million.
Spent $22.3 million — $21.6 million to run schools, about $19,972 per student, plus $59,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10 million local (mostly property tax), $9.4 million state, $2 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.4 million.
Spent $32 million — $19.3 million to run schools, about $23,095 per student, plus $10.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.5 million local (mostly property tax), $7.5 million state, $3.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $54.7 million.
Spent $13 million — $12.2 million to run schools, about $24,737 per student, plus $386,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1.6 million state, $522,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.6 million.
Spent $6.8 million — $6.5 million to run schools, about $17,588 per student, plus $40,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $793,000 state, $32,000 federal. Long-term debt: $550,000.
Spent $9 million — $9 million to run schools, about $26,931 per student, plus $78,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $1.2 million federal.
Spent $7.5 million — $7.3 million to run schools, about $23,101 per student, plus $34,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.3 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $366,000 federal. Long-term debt: $89,000.
Spent $3.3 million — $3.1 million to run schools, about $16,378 per student, plus $22,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $361,000 state, $33,000 federal.
And 16 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Hancock County about $20 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
69 bridges in Hancock County: 16 in good condition, 36 fair, and 17 poor (24.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| MAIN ST over UNION RIVER · built 1923 | 16,449 vehicles a day |
| MAIN ST over MILL STREAM · built 1923 | 9,693 vehicles a day |
| ROUTE 1 over CARRYING PLACE · built 1930 | 9,100 vehicles a day |
| PEABODY DR over LITTLE HARBOR BROOK · built 1978 | 2,688 vehicles a day |
| MARIAVILLE RD over REEDS BRK/GRAHAM LAKE IN · built 1948 | 2,328 vehicles a day |
| SOUTHERN BAY RD over WINSLOW STREAM · built 1936 | 2,051 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $115.4 million of work in Hancock County in fiscal 2025, about $2,080 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Maine are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Hancock County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Hancock County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Maine: the state government and every county in Maine.
Nearby counties: Waldo County (37 mi) · Washington County (47 mi) · Knox County (49 mi) · Penobscot County (60 mi) · Lincoln County (69 mi) · Kennebec County (69 mi).