Town · Maine
Friendship, Maine
Friendship, town, in Knox County, Maine. Friendship had 1,159 residents on July 1, 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 1.6% since 2020; the 2020 Census counted 1,142 and the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates put it at 1,213 (±159). GEOID 2301326805.
Residents, July 2025 estimate
1,159
Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 1,142 · ACS 2020-2024: 1,213 ±159
Median household income
$75,625
±$21,921 (90% margin)
Maine: $74,733
Median home value
$275,000
±$55,685 (90% margin)
Maine: $296,600
Median gross rent
$1,370
±$53 (90% margin)
Maine: $1,139
Where is Friendship and what county is it in?
Friendship is a town in Knox County, Maine. It covers 14.1 square miles of land, 81 residents per square mile in 2020.
Source: 2024 Gazetteer and 2020 place-by-county files, U.S. Census Bureau · Census reference files
How many people live in Friendship, and is it growing?
The Census Bureau estimates that 1,159 people lived in Friendship on July 1, 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than Maine (+3.8%). The 2020 Census counted 1,142 residents. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey, a five-year sample, puts the population at 1,213 (±159).
| Measure | Friendship | Knox County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 1,213±159 | 41,003 | no clear change |
| Households | 553±74 | 18,484 | +117 |
| Average household size | 2.19±0.21 | 2.12 | −0.37 |
| Housing units | 905±90 | 24,564 | no clear change |
Friendship's population since 2000
From 1,204 in 2000 to 1,159 in 2025: down 3.7%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts, each for Friendship as it was drawn that year: a place that annexed land, or a community that has since incorporated, covered a different area then. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.
Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); Census PEP Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025, CO-EST2025); 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 · Check it at data.census.gov
Who lives in Friendship?
The median resident of Friendship is 55.5 years old; 15.3% are under 18 and 37.3% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 91.6%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 4.7%.
| Measure | Friendship | Knox County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 55.5±6.9 | 49.5 | +10.4 |
| Under 18 years | 15.3%±4.8 pts | 16.8% | – |
| 65 years and over | 37.3%±7.1 pts | 27.9% | – |
| Male | 48.8%±3.7 pts | 50.2% | – |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 4.7%±4.3 pts | 1.9% | – |
| White alone, not Hispanic | 91.6%±5.1 pts | 93.2% | −8.4 pts |
| Black or African American alone, not Hispanic | 0.2%±0.3 pts | 0.3% | – |
| Asian alone, not Hispanic | 0.0%±2.2 pts | 0.5% | – |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic | 0.0%±2.2 pts | 0.1% | – |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic | 0.0%±2.2 pts | 0.0% | – |
| Two or more races, not Hispanic | 3.3%±2.3 pts | 3.8% | – |
| Some other race alone, not Hispanic | 0.2%±0.4 pts | 0.2% | – |
| Born outside the United States | 1.2%±1.1 pts | 3.1% | – |
| Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+) | 2.9%±1.9 pts | 4.2% | – |
| Civilian veterans (age 18+) | 12.4%±5.5 pts | 8.7% | – |
| With a disability | 12.7%±4.2 pts | 13.0% | – |
| No health insurance coverage | 8.9%±3.8 pts | 5.5% | no clear change |
| High school graduate or higher (age 25+) | 97.0%±1.8 pts | 94.8% | – |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+) | 39.6%±6.9 pts | 39.7% | no clear change |
| Graduate or professional degree (age 25+) | 15.3%±5.3 pts | 15.3% | – |
| Lived in the same house a year earlier | 93.0%±4.4 pts | 90.3% | – |
| Moved from another state in the past year | 0.9%±0.9 pts | 3.1% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov
What do households in Friendship earn?
Half of Friendship's 553 households earn less than $75,625 a year (±$21,921), against $74,096 in Knox County and $74,733 in Maine. In 2015-2019 it was $72,816 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 10.0% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Measure | Friendship | Knox County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $75,625±$21,921 | $74,096 | no clear change |
| Mean household income | $113,107±$17,717 | $99,101 | – |
| Per capita income | $53,097±$8,362 | $44,763 | +$15,336 |
| People below the poverty line | 10.0%±3.6 pts | 8.2% | no clear change |
| Children under 18 below the poverty line | 2.2%±3.3 pts | 6.4% | – |
| Households receiving SNAP | 6.3%±3.8 pts | 8.5% | – |
| Households with a computer | 96.0%±2.9 pts | 94.8% | – |
| Households with a broadband subscription | 88.8%±5.4 pts | 90.3% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov
What does housing cost in Friendship?
Owners occupy 91.1% of Friendship's occupied homes and renters 8.9%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $275,000 by its owner (±$55,685). The median renter pays $1,370 a month including utilities.
| Measure | Friendship | Knox County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $275,000±$55,685 | $324,900 | no clear change |
| Median gross rent | $1,370±$53 | $1,165 | no clear change |
| Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent | 7.5%±11.6 pts | 36.3% | – |
| Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage | $1,387±$278 | $1,691 | – |
| Owner-occupied homes | 91.1%±3.4 pts | 78.7% | no clear change |
| Renter-occupied homes | 8.9%±3.4 pts | 21.3% | – |
| Housing units | 905±90 | 24,564 | no clear change |
| Homeowner vacancy rate | 0.0%±5.3 pts | 0.9% | – |
| Rental vacancy rate | 0.0%±39.0 pts | 3.3% | – |
| Single-family detached homes | 88.6%±4.1 pts | 79.4% | – |
| Mobile homes | 9.1%±3.9 pts | 5.8% | – |
| Built 2020 or later | 0.3%±0.4 pts | 0.6% | – |
| Built 2010 to 2019 | 4.3%±3.0 pts | 5.3% | – |
| Built 1939 or earlier | 30.1%±6.8 pts | 32.9% | – |
| Households with no vehicle | 3.8%±2.8 pts | 5.4% | – |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov
How many new homes is Friendship building?
Builders took permits for 10 new housing units in Friendship in 2025 (10 in single-family houses), 8.6 per 1,000 residents against 4.9 across Maine.
Counts of units in permits a local office issued; not every permitted unit is built. A year marked with months was reported for part of the year.
Source: Building Permits Survey, annual place files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey
How do people in Friendship work and get to work?
65.6% of Friendship's workers drive alone and 17.9% work from home. The average trip to work takes 24.6 minutes.
| Measure | Friendship | Knox County | Change since 2015-2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the labor force (age 16+) | 50.1%±7.1 pts | 58.1% | – |
| Unemployment rate | 0.8%±2.4 pts | 3.9% | – |
| Drove alone to work | 65.6%±8.2 pts | 68.8% | – |
| Carpooled | 11.3%±5.7 pts | 9.4% | – |
| Public transportation | 0.0%±5.2 pts | 0.1% | – |
| Walked | 2.9%±2.9 pts | 3.5% | – |
| Worked from home | 17.9%±7.3 pts | 16.6% | no clear change |
| Mean travel time to work | 24.6 min±3.2 | 19.6 min | no clear change |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov
What census tracts are in Friendship?
1 census tract lies mostly in Friendship, and 1 more reaches into it (2020 census blocks).
| Tract | Residents, 2020-2024 | Median household income |
|---|---|---|
| Tract 9710Knox County | 2,673 | $80,125 |
| Tract 9900Knox County | 0 | not published |
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 block assignment files (tract share = share of the tract's census blocks in Friendship) · Census block assignment files
How does Friendship compare with other places in Maine?
By the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimates, Friendship is the 7,041st-most populous of the 16,079 U.S. towns and townships that have one and the 235th-most populous of 454 in Maine.
Friendship ranks 150th of 349 places in Maine with 1,000 or more residents and a reliable estimate, by median household income.
| Measure | Rank | Of |
|---|---|---|
| Population, July 2025 estimate | 235th | 454 |
| Growth 2020-2025 (PEP) | 191st | 273 |
| Residents per square mile | 221st | 353 |
| Median household income | 150th | 349 |
| Per capita income | 51st | 353 |
| Median home value | 153rd | 352 |
| Median gross rent | 56th | 301 |
| Poverty rate | 160th | 277 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 102nd | 352 |
| Median age | 39th | 353 |
| Owner-occupied share | 49th | 353 |
| Work from home | 106th | 275 |
| Travel time to work | 187th | 352 |
Friendship's figures with every place in Maine (CSV)
Every place in Maine, sortable · Compare Friendship with other places
Source: PlainCities ranks computed from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed
How reliable are the figures for Friendship?
19 of the 57 figures for Friendship on this page carry a coefficient of variation over 40% and are marked with a ring: they come from a small sample, so read them as rough.
The American Community Survey samples about one household in eight over five years, so every figure is an estimate with a 90% margin of error (shown under each value). A ring marks an estimate whose coefficient of variation is over 40%. A change is called only when the gap between the two periods is larger than their combined 90% margin (the square root of the sum of the two squared margins), the Census Bureau's test. How to read a margin of error.
Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026): margins of error as published · ACS technical documentation
How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections
Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Friendship are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.