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 27,026 people and seven associated neighborhoods, South Portland is the fourth largest community in Maine. South Portland real estate is some of the most expensive in Maine, although South Portland house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.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 (12.62%), office and administrative support (10.77%), and sales jobs (8.95%). 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. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 13.39% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. The education level of South Portland ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in South Portland, 49.09% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in South Portland in 2022 was $47,678, which is wealthy relative to Maine and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $190,712 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 English, Irish, 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.
