Cumberland Center ranked as the most affluent place in Maine

Each state's most affluent community. (Business Insider map)

Each state’s most affluent community. (Business Insider map)

According to survey and census research released by the publication Business Insider, Cumberland Center — an approximately four-square-mile section of the town of Cumberland — is the most affluent community in Maine.

This 2,500-person census-designated place [CDP] boasts a median household income of $101,375, the highest such figure in the state.

(The larger town of Cumberland has a population of just more than 7,200 people.)

To determine each state’s most affluent community, Business Insider used U.S. Census Bureau “places” — i.e., legally incorporated municipalities or census-designated places, which are like neighborhoods big enough to stand out — with populations of at least 1,000. Business Insider then used data estimates from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey to drill down on household incomes.

Using these same sources, we were able to determine that the larger state of Maine has a median household income of $48,219, so the folks in Cumberland Center, on average, make more than double what folks make on average around the rest of the state. The larger town of Cumberland has a median household income of $92,262, for reference.

Some of Maine’s other wealthiest communities include: Cape Elizabeth, with a median household income of $85,604; Yarmouth, at $83,424; at Falmouth Foreside, at $70,568.

(That’s not to say those are Maine’s second, third and fourth most affluent communities, just that they’re up there in Cumberland’s territory.)

Maine’s most populous cities? Portland has a median household income of $44,487, Lewiston is at $36,600 and Bangor is at $36,246.

From a nationwide perspective, Cumberland Center ranks 40th on a list of each state’s most affluent communities, right behind Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, with a median household income of $104,327. Following Maine’s entry on the list at No. 41 is Montana City, Montana, at $98,362.

The top two communities on the list are Hidden Hills, California, and Chevy Chase, Maryland, with median household incomes up over $250,000, and finishing in 50th and last place is Gretna, Nebraska, with a figure of $77,818.

Business Insider writer Andy Kiersz points out that many of the communities on the list are relatively small suburbs of major cities, such as Scarsdale, New York (No. 5, $232,422), and Darien, Connecticut, (No. 13, $200,724), which are just outside of New York City. Likewise, he wrote, Chevy Chase and Great Falls, Virginia (No. 10, $217,552), are in the shadow of Washington, D.C.

This can be seen in the Maine numbers as well, as Cumberland and Cumberland Center therein are easy commutes to Portland, by far the state’s largest city (although admittedly nowhere near as large as New York City or Washington, D.C.).

Among New England states, Maine’s most affluent community is in the middle of the pack, behind Darien and Dover, Massachusetts ($185,515), but ahead of South Hooksett, New Hampshire ($93,371), Ashaway, Rhode Island ($84,500), and Jericho, Vermont ($78,618).

Harwood Court in Scarsdale, New York. (Photograph taken in 2002 by Daniel P. B. Smith. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

Harwood Court in Scarsdale, New York. (Photograph taken in 2002 by Daniel P. B. Smith. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)