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Mount Desert, ME

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Mount Desert is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Maine. With a population of 2,200 people and just one neighborhood, Mount Desert is the 207th largest community in Maine.

Mount Desert home prices are not only among the most expensive in Maine, but Mount Desert real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns, Mount Desert isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Mount Desert are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Mount Desert is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Mount Desert who work in sales jobs (13.04%), teaching (13.04%), and management occupations (7.73%).

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Mount Desert has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 15.29% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Mount Desert is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

Because of many things, Mount Desert is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Mount Desert a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Mount Desert has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Mount Desert’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Mount Desert is worth considering.

One of the nice things about Mount Desert is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Mount Desert. 51.00% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.

The per capita income in Mount Desert in 2022 was $59,190, which is wealthy relative to Maine and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $236,760 for a family of four. However, Mount Desert contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Mount Desert home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Mount Desert residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Mount Desert include English, Irish, German, Scottish, and French.

The most common language spoken in Mount Desert is English. Other important languages spoken here include Russian and French.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.

Real Estate

is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.

In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 65.3%, which is higher than 99.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

People

In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.

In addition, the neighborhood is considered a solid choice for executive lifestyles. NeighborhoodScout's analysis ranks it as better than 94.3% of Maine neighborhoods for executive living, based on the wealthy, educated professionals, executives, and managers who choose to reside here, the spacious homes that are prominent features of the real estate in the neighborhood, and the high real estate appreciation rates found here relative to other neighborhoods in the state. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees, families with school-aged children and urban sophisticates.

Modes of Transportation

In the neighborhood, 0.6% of people ride a ferry to work each day. This is a very high percentage compared to most places. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals that this is a higher level of ferry ridership than in 98.6% of the neighborhoods in America.

Occupations

It used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 3.6% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 95.0% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more English and Yugoslav ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 39.8% of this neighborhood's residents have English ancestry and 0.5% have Yugoslav ancestry.

The Neighbors

There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Mount Desert are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 70.8% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.

What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.

In the neighborhood, 48.9% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 22.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (19.3%), and 5.6% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.0% of households.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the neighborhood in Mount Desert, ME, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (39.8%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (18.9%), and residents who report German roots (11.4%), and some of the residents are also of Scottish ancestry (4.5%), along with some French ancestry residents (4.2%), among others.

Getting to Work

How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (43.4% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (67.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (8.3%) and 6.9% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


Real Estate includes:
Average Home Values
Rental Market
Housing Market Details
Neighborhood Setting
Economics & Demographics include:
Lifestyle & Special Character
Household Types
Commute To Work
Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
Employment Industries & Occupations
Income & Unemployment Rate
Higher Education Attainment
Crime includes:
Neighborhood Crime Index
Crimes Per Square Mile
Property Crime Comparison
Violent Crime Comparison
Schools include:
School Ratings
Schools In District
Public School Test Scores
School District Enrollment
Educational Expenditures

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