Slide 5 of 18

Measures of births, deaths and migration help us to understand the dynamics of population changes in Bucksport. These changes all affect the composition of the population at any given time. One way to see these changes is to compare population profiles over several years. The three profiles presented here indicate that Bucksport’s population is aging, with absolute declines in the number of young people and some notable increases among the oldest age groups. The yellow bar represent a late baby-boom cohort as it ages over time. This particular cohort is the largest in 1997 and by now will consist of persons in their 40’s. Changes in the age structure of Bucksport impact the challenges of supporting the non-working, or dependent population. The number of persons under the age of 20 has declined over this period by 4% while the number of persons over 65 has increased by 28%. This trend is likely to accelerate in the future. The good news for the present is that Bucksport has a very higher percentage of its population in prime working years. Between 1980 and 1997 the population between ages 35 and 55 increased by 84%.