Wells is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Maine. With a population of 11,855 people and four associated neighborhoods, Wells is the 19th largest community in Maine. Wells has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Wells, where the median household income is $83,900.00. Wells home prices are not only among the most expensive in Maine, but Wells real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Wells is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Wells is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Wells who work in management occupations (15.78%), sales jobs (12.65%), and office and administrative support (8.54%). Also of interest is that Wells has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 18.02% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Another notable thing is that Wells is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town. The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Wells has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Wells a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here. Wells is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. The population of Wells is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 37.75% of adults in Wells have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Wells in 2022 was $44,553, which is upper middle income relative to Maine and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $178,212 for a family of four. However, Wells contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Wells home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Wells residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Wells include Irish, English, French, Italian, and French Canadian. The most common language spoken in Wells is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and French.
