Of the 492 communities in Maine, the State Planning Office has identified 69 as service centers. Towns like Machias, Fort Kent, Calais, Lewiston, Portland, Presque Isle, Bangor and Norway, for example, serve surrounding areas, which depend on service centers for their economic well being. These 69 communities are home to two thirds of the state's population. They generate 75 percent of Maine's retail sales and 70 percent of the jobs. Population growth is taking place just outside these service centers, but not because the state's population is rising sharply.
Maine is the fourth slowest growing state in the nation.
Public school enrollment is 11 percent lower than it was 25 years ago. The exodus to the outskirts represents shift rather than growth. This shift has its good and bad points, says Richert. On the positive side, it gives more opportunities for housing. On the downside, it keeps school officials and community support systems scrambling.