County food-access profile · Maine
York County, ME
York 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.
- 17.3%
- low-access pop.
- 4
- food-desert tracts
- 8.1%
- on SNAP
- 217K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
17.3% of York County residents live in a low-access area, and 4 of its 40 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 15
- low-access tracts
- 7K
- food-desert residents
- 4.7%
- households, no vehicle
- 7.7%
- below poverty line
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, 1-and-10-mile measure).
York County's low-access share sits near the national share, at 17.3% per the USDA Atlas. 15 of the county's 40 census tracts are flagged low-access, covering roughly 34,109 residents who live far from a supermarket. 4 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 6,589 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How York County compares nationally
York County lands in the middle of the national distribution: a 17.3% low-access share that beats 38% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data (rank #1,928).
York County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 40 census tracts in York County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
York County vs. other Maine counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Maine
- York
York County, ME
17.3 % low-access
- Androscoggin
Androscoggin County, ME
9.2 % low-access
- Aroostook
Aroostook County, ME
10.9 % low-access
- Cumberland
Cumberland County, ME
21 % low-access
- Franklin
Franklin County, ME
12.9 % low-access
- Hancock 4
Hancock County, ME
4 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 40 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 197,131 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 15 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 4 |
| Low-Access Population | 34,109 |
| Low-Access Share | 17.3%below the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 6,589 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 216,731 |
| Median Household Income | $88,333 |
| Poverty Rate | 7.7%well below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 7,364 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 8.1%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.7%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.6% |
About 8.1% of York County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 17.3% of residents are low-access, near the national share for U.S. counties.
- 8.1% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 7,364 households here.
- 4.7% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 4 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for York County
near the national share
4 of York County's 40 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 10.0% of all its tracts.
A further 11 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 15.
An estimated 34,109 residents, roughly 17.3% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 6,589 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 25 tracts (62.5%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in York County
York County has 149 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 8 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 71 locations (48% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 71
- 7 jacksons corner store, lyman
- 7-eleven #32536b, springvale
- 7-eleven store #32542 32542, old orchard beach
- 7-eleven #32540 b 32540 b, biddeford
- 7-eleven 23001, kittery
- alfred country store, alfred
- beachway market llc, saco
- big apple 1065, arundel
- big apple 1067, kennebunk
- big apple 1095, cornish
- big apple 1111, sanford
- big apple 1118, saco
- bradbury brothers market, ogunquit
- buxton mini mart inc, buxton
- cumberland farms 5559, kennebunk
- cumberland farms 5567, york
- cumberland farms 5568, south berwick
- cumberland farms 5576, north berwick
- cumberland farms 5584, berwick
- cumberland farms 5599, saco
- circle k 4707036, wells
- circle k 4707045, biddeford
- circle k 4707047, sanford
- circle k 4707049, york
- circle k 4707053, saco
- circle k 4707054, kennebunk
- circle k 4707062, eliot
- circle k 4707065, kittery
- cornish market, cornish
- cumberland farms 5560, ogunquit
- cumberland farms 5616, biddeford
- cumberland farms 5618, saco
- cumberland farms 5624, eliot
- cumberland farms 5625, wells
- cumberland farms 5626, sanford
- dayton country store llc, dayton
- downtown market, biddeford
- eastside convenience, sanford
- energy north 2329, wells
- friendly market, old orchard beach
- goodwin mills general store, lyman
- in and out convenience store, wells
- jaky's, biddeford
- k&d corner store, west newfield
- limerick village variety, limerick
- macdonald's beach convenience, old orchard beach
- main st convenience store, springvale
- nouria 1439 main street 1100, sanford
- nouria 1829 main street 1267, sanford
- nouria 222 narragansett trail 1259, buxton
- nouria 28 elm street 1264, saco
- nouria 4 goodwins mills road 1262, lyman
- nouria 411 sokokis trail 1290, east waterboro
- nouria 432 alfred road 1265, sanford
- nouria 6 plains road 1091, hollis center
- nouria 766 narragansett trail 1260, buxton
- nouria 845 main street 1266, sanford
- one stop shop llc, biddeford
- paul's ii, old orchard beach
- paul's variety, biddeford
- potvins quick stop llc, old orchard beach
- rusty lantern market 0003, kennebunk
- super sub shop llc, biddeford
- three ds variety store inc, biddeford
- the boonies, shapleigh
- the depot, springvale
- village variety 2344, parsonsfield
- waterboro market & cafe, east waterboro
- waterboro milk room llc, waterboro
- wells xtra mart 10102, wells
- your store next door, shapleigh
Combination Grocery/Other · 36
- cvs pharmacy 143, biddeford
- cvs pharmacy 7410, kennebunk
- cvs pharmacy 959, wells
- cvs pharmacy, inc. 523, sanford
- dollar general 17864, wells
- dollar general 18127, parsonsfield
- dollar tree 3119, wells
- dollar general 15393, north berwick
- dollar general 15532, buxton
- dollar general 15568, lyman
- dollar general 15940, eliot
- dollar general 16040, north waterboro
- dollar general 16771, limerick
- dollar general 18492, old orchard beach
- dollar general store 17003, limington
- dollar general store 17269, lebanon
- dollar tree 2409, biddeford
- dollar tree 2796, sanford
- dollar tree 7130, york
- family dollar 10201, old orchard beach
- family dollar 12063, waterboro
- family dollar 8286, cornish
- family dollar store 2984, sanford
- family dollar store 3048, biddeford
- ocean state job lot 473, sanford
- ocean state job lot 477, biddeford
- walgreens 12400, sanford
- walgreens 17450, buxton
- walgreens 18004, saco
- walgreens 18119, old orchard beach
- walgreens 18409, biddeford
- walgreens 18431, kennebunk
- walgreens 19251, cornish
- walgreens 19330, kittery
- walgreens 19606, springvale
- walgreens 19796, york
Super Store · 14
- call's shop n save, cornish
- hannaford food & drug 8221, waterboro
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8138, saco
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8225, biddeford
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8226, buxton
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8384, york
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8389, wells
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8390, sanford
- hannaford supermarket & pharmacy 8403, kennebunk
- hannaford supermarket 8437, north berwick
- market basket 75, biddeford
- target 2166, biddeford
- walmart supercenter 2153, biddeford
- walmart supercenter 1954, sanford
Farmers' Market · 8
- berwick winter farmers' market, berwick
- kennebunk farmers market association, kennebunk
- kittery community farmers' market, kittery
- saco farmers market #nafmnp, saco
- sanford farmers' market, sanford
- south berwick farmers market 2, south berwick
- tri-town farmers markets, eliot
- wells farmers market 3, wells
Medium Grocery Store · 7
- alhadidi market, biddeford
- cummings market, w kennebunk
- nature's way market, south berwick
- ray's market, biddeford
- rogers supa dolla, sanford
- spillers farm store, wells
- tran's market, biddeford
Supermarket · 6
- landry's shop n save 8821, old orchard beach
- one earth natural food store, shapleigh
- plummer, pw & sons inc, buxton
- shaw's supermarket 2626, saco
- shaw's supermarket 4560, sanford
- wells super food market, wells
Small Grocery Store · 4
- 77 convenience store inc, biddeford
- cornerstone country market, waterboro
- new morning natural foods, biddeford
- new morning natural foods, kennebunk
Large Grocery Store · 3
- jerrys market, sanford
- limerick supermarket, limerick
- sleepers supermarket limington, limington
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Maine
Compare York County vs Androscoggin County → · All Maine counties →
Food access nationally, Maine in context
York County sits inside Maine (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of York County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in York County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in York County? ▼
Is York County a food desert? ▼
What share of York County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
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.