About Monhegan

Monhegan is a tiny coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Maine. With a population of 79 people and just one neighborhood, Monhegan is the 265th largest community in Maine. Much of the housing stock in Monhegan was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Monhegan is a blue-collar town, with 50.8% of people working in blue-collar occupations, while the average in America is just 24.7%. Overall, Monhegan is a town of farmers, fishers, or foresters, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Monhegan who work in office and administrative support jobs (12.31%), management occupations (10.77%), and art, media and design (9.23%).

Of important note, Monhegan is also a town of artists. Monhegan has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Monhegan's character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 16.92% 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.

Monhegan is a major vacation destination. Much of the town's population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependant on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Monhegan's population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Monhegan are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Monhegan spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 4.63 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.

Monhegan is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

Monhegan Information and Demographics

In terms of college education, Monhegan is somewhat better educated than the 14.96% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 22.03% of adults 25 and older in the town have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Monhegan in 2000 was $20,568, which is upper middle income relative to Maine and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $82,272 for a family of four.

The people who call Monhegan home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Monhegan is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Monhegan include French, Scotch-Irish, Scottish, English, Irish, European, Northern European, Italian, German, Greek, Polish, Eastern European, and French Canadian.

The most common language spoken in Monhegan is English.