Westbrook, Maine

Population

Growing. Up 5.5% since 2020.

21,565

people, the 8th-largest of Maine's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Maine's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

89.7%

of 17,749 jobs located in Westbrook are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 77% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,392

a month. Maine's median is $1,139.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,778 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Cumberland County.

• $1,127 Tract 48.02
• $2,905 Tract 25.03

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$1,277–$1,916

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,392 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 1,294 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 67% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 76% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.8% to the 9,575 homes here.

35–177

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 29% more than Maine's.

$383,300

median home value in Westbrook.

• $383,300 Westbrook
• $296,600 Maine
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year