Signature · 158 SNAP-authorized stores
Penobscot County, ME
Penobscot County's food-access picture is close to the national norm, with pockets that qualify as low-access. This profile breaks down who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 15.7%
- low-access pop.
- 8
- food-desert tracts
- 15.6%
- on SNAP
- 155K
- residents (ACS 2024)
USDA FARA access plate
County Penobscot County, ME
LA-MODERATE · BELOW-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-HEAVY · VEH-TYPICAL · DENSITY-MIXED
- LA-MODERATE 15.7% low-access
- BELOW-NATIONAL -6.4 pts vs US
- LILA-CLUSTER 8 food-desert tracts
- SNAP-HEAVY 15.6% SNAP
- VEH-TYPICAL 8.1% no vehicle
- DENSITY-MIXED 17% tracts LILA
Nearest low-access peer: Oxford County ( -0.6 pts)
The food-access picture
According to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, Penobscot County ranks #2,062 of 3,079 U.S. counties by low-access share and #3 of 16 counties in ME (15.7% low-access; 8 food-desert tracts).
- #2,062
- national by low-access %
- #3
- in ME
- 12
- low-access tracts
- 9K
- food-desert residents
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA).
Signature read: 158 SNAP-authorized stores .
How Penobscot County compares nationally
Penobscot County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 15.7% low-access share that beats 34% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #2,063).
Penobscot County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
46 census tracts grouped by USDA classification · 8 LILA.
By USDA urbanicity classification, Penobscot County has 15 urban and 31 rural census tracts. The 1-mile (urban) vs 10-mile (rural) distance threshold above applies per tract, so a county's access rate reflects this mix.
Penobscot County low-access neighbourhood
Poles + nearest peers in Maine, not a full county-board reprint
- Cumberland
Cumberland 21%
21 % low-access
- York
York 17.3%
17.3 % low-access
- Penobscot
Penobscot 15.7%
15.7 % low-access
- Oxford
Oxford 15.1%
15.1 % low-access
- Franklin
Franklin 12.9%
12.9 % low-access
- Waldo
Waldo 11.3%
11.3 % low-access
- Lincoln 2.6
Lincoln 2.6%
2.6 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 46 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 153,923 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 12 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 8 |
| Low-Access Population | 24,129 |
| Low-Access Share | 15.7%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 8,859 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 154,710 |
| Median Household Income | $66,356 |
| Poverty Rate | 14.1%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 10,162 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 15.6%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 8.1%near the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 4.7% |
Thick SNAP store book in Penobscot County
Penobscot County has 158 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 11 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 79 locations (50% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 79
- a&m family market llc, brewer
- a.e. robinson convenience store-corinna 104, corinna
- ae robinson convenience store-corinth 106, corinth
- ae robinson convenience store-dexter 108, dexter
- airport freshies 1855, bangor
- alltown market orono 641, orono
- big apple 1015, brewer
- big apple 1031, brewer
- big apple 1032, bangor
- big apple 1057, mattawamkeag
- big apple 1063, lincoln
- big apple 1077, corinna
- bratt's country store, stetson
- broadway convenience llc, bangor
- broadway freshies 1827, bangor
- busy bee variety 24, bangor
- circle k 4707002, newport
- circle k 4707004, medway
- circle k 4707012, bangor
- circle k 4707015, brewer
- circle k 4707020, bangor
- circle k 4707021, orono
- circle k 4707023, holden
- circle k 4707048, lincoln
- circle k 4707050, bangor
- circle k 4707057, hampden
- circle k 4707087, bangor
- circle k 4707089, orono
- circle k 7113, millinocket
- clifton general store, clifton
- county road market and deli, milford
- dysarts travel stop, newburgh
- dysarts travel stop, orono
- dysarts travel stop, holden
- dysarts travel stop, hampden
- dysarts travel stop, old town
- dysarts travel stop, bangor
- dysarts travel stop, lincoln
- dysarts truck stop, hermon
- fairmount market, bangor
- flowers bakery outlet 991, holden
- garland country store, garland
- hammond street freshies 1825, bangor
- handy stop, howland
- hawks deli & marketplace, hermon
- hermon convenience, llc, hermon
- hermon e-z mart, hermon
- holden freshies 1829, holden
- katahdin general store llc/katahdin general store, millinocket
- lagrange general store, lagrange
- lee handy stop, lee
- lennie's superette, inc., medway
- levant corner store, levant
- milford freshies 1854, milford
- millinocket variety, millinocket
- neport freshies 1863, newport
- newport freshies 1853, newport
- orcutt's variety, dixmont
- ohio convenience llc, bangor
- ollie's market, inc, levant
- perry village variety, glenburn
- price's corner store, bangor
- r & k variety, hampden
- rick's mini mart, carmel
- sam's qwik stop, kenduskeag
- smith's general store, springfield
- snows corner freshies 1852, orrington
- stillwater freshies 1826, bangor
- the eddington store, eddington
- the local, orono
- tim's little big store, old town
- tipped trailer co. llc, newport
- tradewinds 2332, hampden
- tradewinds 2333, brewer
- tradewinds 2335, bangor
- tradewinds 2337, veazie
- tradewinds 2338, old town
- tradewinds 2339, eddington
- why not stop, lincoln
Combination Grocery/Other · 35
- abraham's country store, newport
- bean w a & sons inc, bangor
- dollar general 18183, carmel
- dollar general 18869, milford
- dollar general 19416, patten
- dollar tree 2864, bangor
- dollar tree 2871, brewer
- dollar general 17039, west enfield
- dollar general 17148, hampden
- dollar general 19144, old town
- dollar general 20379, corinna
- dollar general 23906, hermon
- dollar general 24293, dexter
- dollar general 25267, bangor
- dollar general 25421, millinocket
- dollar general store 17042, glenburn
- dollar general store 17353, eddington
- dollar tree 2867, orono
- dollar tree 3888, bangor
- dollar tree 5168, lincoln
- dollar tree 8468, bangor
- family dollar 11364, e millinocket
- family dollar 4424, dexter
- family dollar 6450, bangor
- family dollar 7854, corinth
- family dollar store 4963, millinocket
- natural living center, bangor
- tiller & rye, brewer
- trader dicks beef jerky, clifton
- walgreens 11285, bangor
- walgreens 11545, brewer
- walgreens 17141, bangor
- walgreens 17147, lincoln
- walgreens 18000, old town
- walgreens 18112, hampden
Super Store · 18
- bj's wholesale club 374, bangor
- danforth's down home supermarket 8803, hermon
- hannaford supermarket 8110, bangor
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8107, bangor
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8109, bangor
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8133, old town
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8140, lincoln
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8155, millinocket
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8173, brewer
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8417, hampden
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8442, dexter
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8443, newport
- p & l country market, dexter
- sam's club 6333, bangor
- target 1855, bangor
- walmart 1919, lincoln
- walmart supercenter 5076, brewer
- walmart supercenter 1856, bangor
Supermarket · 8
- ellis family market, patten
- ellis family market shop 8806, east millinocket
- g & m family market, holden
- orono iga, orono
- paradis shop 'n save 8825, brewer
- shaw's supermarket 4556, bangor
- steaks n stuff, lincoln
- whitney's family supermarket, corinth
Farmers' Market · 5
- bangor farmers market, bangor
- brewer farmers market, brewer
- hampden farmers market, hampden
- hampden farmers market, hampden
- orono farmers market, orono
Small Grocery Store · 5
- alton grocery, alton
- applebees superette, greenbush
- joe's market, bangor
- rogers market, hudson
- the village market, carmel
Medium Grocery Store · 3
- bears one-stop, newport
- katahdin general store medway, medway
- rideout's market, millinocket
Large Grocery Store · 2
- bradford general store, bradford
- emery's meat & produce brewer, brewer
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- maple lane farm, charleston
Military Commissary · 1
- bangor angb commissary 2005, bangor
Seafood Specialty · 1
- mclaughlin seafood inc, bangor
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator (currently authorized stores, a live third population, not the 2019 Atlas or ACS 2024 snapshot above).
Other Counties in Maine
One of 15 counties in Maine, 6 are shown here.
Compare Penobscot County vs Androscoggin County → · All Maine counties →
Nationwide peers for Penobscot County's low-access or SNAP share
Two USDA/ACS-derived peer sets for Penobscot County, both outside Maine so the neighborhoods are not the same-state county list above.
Similar low-access share
Nearest low-access rates outside ME (15.7% here).
- Appanoose County, IA · 15.7% low-access
- Appanoose County, IA · 15.7% low-access
- Humboldt County, NV · 15.7% low-access
- Humboldt County, NV · 15.7% low-access
Similar SNAP participation
Nearest household SNAP rates outside ME (15.6% here).
- Kalkaska County, MI · 15.6% SNAP
- Kalkaska County, MI · 15.6% SNAP
- Attala County, MS · 15.6% SNAP
- Attala County, MS · 15.6% SNAP
Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Peers floor at 10,000 residents so stub counties cannot own the match.
Food access nationally, Maine in context
Penobscot County sits inside Maine (ringed). Each state is colored by population-weighted low-access; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Read with this county
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019) · U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates · methodology · compiled .
PlainFoodAccess renders this county profile directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Figures for Penobscot County, ME are computed from the joined Atlas and ACS records for FIPS 23019. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.