Orono is a medium-sized town located in the state of Maine. With a population of 12,199 people and three associated neighborhoods, Orono is the 20th largest community in Maine.Orono is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 88.49% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Orono is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Orono who work in teaching (17.70%), healthcare (11.60%), and office and administrative support (11.46%). Also of interest is that Orono 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 Orono telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.29% 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. Orono is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Orono to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy. Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 16.80 minutes getting to work every day.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Orono. 66.79% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Orono in 2022 was $28,271, which is low income relative to Maine, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $113,084 for a family of four. However, Orono contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Orono is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Orono home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Orono residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Orono include Irish, English, German, French, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Orono is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
