South Portland is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Maine. With a population of 26,840 people and seven associated neighborhoods, South Portland is the fourth largest community in Maine. South Portland home prices are not only among the most expensive in Maine, but South Portland real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, South Portland is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, South Portland is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in South Portland who work in management occupations (12.73%), office and administrative support (9.48%), and sales jobs (8.55%). Also of interest is that South Portland has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in South Portland telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 15.89% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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. South Portland is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. One of the benefits of South Portland is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 18.73 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.South Portland is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 49.26% of adults in South Portland have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The per capita income in South Portland in 2022 was $49,719, which is wealthy relative to Maine and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $198,876 for a family of four. However, South Portland contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. South Portland is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call South Portland home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of South Portland residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in South Portland include Irish, English, French, Italian, and German. The most common language spoken in South Portland is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Slavic languages.
