Somerset County area

Somerset County, Maine covers 4,093.4 square miles: 3,924.3 square miles of land and 169.1 square miles of water. Its county seat is Skowhegan. An estimated 51,620 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 230252026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area3,924.3 mi²
Water area169.1 mi²
Population (2025)51,620
People per mi²13

County outline

Generalized outline of Somerset County, Maine
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Somerset County is located

Somerset County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 95.9% of Somerset County’s measured area and water for 4.1%. Its combined area converts to 10,601.8 square kilometers or approximately 2,619,750 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land3,924.28910,163.8622,511,545
Water169.071437.892108,205.4
Total4,093.3610,601.7542,619,750.4

How Somerset County compares

By original Census land area, Somerset County ranks #3 of 16 in Maine and #127 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 3.044 times the Maine county-equivalent median of 1,289.2 square miles. It accounts for 12.7% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Maine ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Somerset County

The Census Bureau estimates that 51,620 people lived in Somerset County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,002 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #9 of 16 in Maine. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 50,473, the population has grown by 1,147 (+2.3%), compared with +3.8% for Maine as a whole.

With 3,924.3 square miles of land, that is 13 people per square mile (5.1 per km²), placing Somerset County #2,530 nationally for density and #13 in Maine. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Maine median is 51. Put another way, there are about 49 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate50,46950,79151,05251,29351,49051,620
Change—+322+261+241+197+130

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Somerset County

Somerset County is divided into 37 cities and towns. In Maine, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.

The most populous is Skowhegan town, with 8,676 residents (16.8% of the county). The largest by land is Seboomook Lake UT, at 1,401.1 mi², or 35.7% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Hartland town grew fastest since then (+11.2%).

County subdivisionPopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²Share of county land
Skowhegan townCounty seat8,676+0.6%58.81.5%
Fairfield town6,537+0.7%53.71.4%
Madison town4,888+3.4%51.91.3%
Pittsfield town3,935+0.7%48.21.2%
Norridgewock town3,304+0.8%501.3%
Anson town2,333+1.9%47.51.2%
Canaan town2,219+1.2%41.21%
St. Albans town2,176+6.1%44.81.1%
Palmyra town2,077+7.9%40.21%
Hartland town1,890+11.2%37.10.9%
Cornville town1,378+5.3%40.71%
Solon town1,008+3.9%39.61%
Embden town958+6.2%39.61%
Athens town955−0.1%43.61.1%
Smithfield town953+2.7%19.90.5%
Show the other 22 subdivisions
NamePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Detroit town929+5.7%20.2
Bingham town833−3.8%33.9
Harmony town829+0.1%38.7
Jackman town799+0.5%41.3
New Portland town766+0.3%43.9
Mercer town713+0.4%26.7
Starks town632+5.9%31.5
Moscow town492+4.2%46.2
Ripley town487+0.8%24.6
Cambridge town460+3.8%19.3
Northeast Somerset UT367−0.3%483.9
Central Somerset UT3390%76.7
Moose River town1860%40.1
Pleasant Ridge plantation860%22.1
Caratunk town82+3.8%52.3
Brighton plantation61−1.6%39.3
Dennistown plantation600%38.6
West Forks plantation580%48.7
Highland plantation54+1.9%42.2
The Forks plantation480%39.6
Northwest Somerset UT390%656.8
Seboomook Lake UT130%1,401.1

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Somerset County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Somerset County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

26 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Somerset County; 25 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

0447804911049120492004923049240492504929049300493704942049430494404945049500495704958049610496504967049710497504976049780497904985

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Somerset County

Somerset County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents. It has more land than 4 of them. The largest neighbor is Aroostook County (6,671.2 mi²) and the smallest is Waldo County (730.2 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Somerset County forms a block of 21,248.1 mi² of land, of which it holds 18.5%.

Map of Somerset County and the 6 county equivalents that border it Piscataquis County, Maine: 3,960.8 mi² landFranklin County, Maine: 1,697 mi² landKennebec County, Maine: 867.5 mi² landPenobscot County, Maine: 3,397 mi² landAroostook County, Maine: 6,671.2 mi² landWaldo County, Maine: 730.2 mi² land
Somerset County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. SomersetCompare
Aroostook County6,671.21.7× largerCompare
Piscataquis County3,960.8about the sameCompare
Penobscot County3,3971.2× smallerCompare
Franklin County1,6972.3× smallerCompare
Kennebec County867.54.5× smallerCompare
Waldo County730.25.4× smallerCompare

How big is Somerset County compared with U.S. states?

Somerset County has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 2 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 1.2 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Maine’s county land could hold about 7.9 areas the size of Somerset County.

Land area: Somerset County and the closest-sized states
Delaware1,948.6 mi²
Somerset County3,924.3 mi²
Connecticut4,842.5 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 62.6 miles (100.8 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Somerset County?

Somerset County has more land than 3,095 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Somerset County3,924.3 mi²
Maine median1,289.2 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Somerset County at #128 nationally by total area, 1 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 4.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 3 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Somerset County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#126Modoc County, California3,948.2Compare
#127Somerset County, Maine3,924.3This county
#128Presidio County, Texas3,855.3Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 45.503646, -69.956110. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 10,163,862,529 m²; AWATER: 437,891,936 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Somerset County?

Somerset County, Maine has 3,924.3 square miles (10,163.9 km²) of land and 169.1 square miles of water, for a total area of 4,093.4 square miles. It ranks #127 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Somerset County the largest county in Maine?

No. Somerset County ranks #3 of 16 in Maine by land area. The largest is Aroostook County, with 6,671.2 square miles of land.

What counties border Somerset County?

Somerset County shares a land border with Piscataquis County, Franklin County, Kennebec County, Penobscot County, Aroostook County, and Waldo County.

What is the population of Somerset County?

The Census Bureau estimates Somerset County had 51,620 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,002 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 13 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Somerset County?

The county seat of Somerset County is Skowhegan.

What cities and towns are in Somerset County?

Somerset County has 37 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Skowhegan town, Fairfield town, Madison town, Pittsfield town, and Norridgewock town.

Is Somerset County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Somerset County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Somerset County?

26 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Somerset County, and 25 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Somerset County compare with U.S. states?

It has more land than 2 of the 50 states, including Delaware (1,948.6 square miles of land).

How many acres of land are in Somerset County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 2,511,545 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 2,619,750 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

Download the complete CSV or JSON dataset