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As we head toward the November election, we’re likely to be bombarded with messages about what a terrible place Maine is, and that lots of people are leaving — or want to leave — the state. Yes, Maine has plenty of problems — a high tax burden and unaffordable housing, among them. But the notion that Maine isn’t attracting new residents simply isn’t true.
A recent report from SEO Backlinks found that Maine gained 7,406 more residents from other states than it lost from July 2024 to July 2025. While the raw number isn’t huge, Maine was ranked the seventh most popular state in terms of the rate of growth. South Carolina was No. 1 on the list. New Hampshire, a state often touted as an example that Maine should follow, ranked ninth. All other New England states were lower in the rankings. The report looked only at moves within the United States, not people who moved here from other countries.
This isn’t a one-time conclusion. According to moveBuddha, Maine ranked No. 3 in 2024 for the ratio of people coming to the state versus leaving. No other state in New England was in the top 10. In fact, most New England states saw more people leave for other states rather than move in.
These numbers align with a report from the Maine state economist, which showed that Maine’s population reached a record high of more than 1.4 million in 2025, thanks mostly to people moving to the state. It is true that some people are leaving Maine, but people are coming to the Pine Tree State at a faster rate than they are leaving.
Again, we’re not minimizing the struggles of far too many Mainers to afford housing, healthcare, childcare and other essentials. We’re also not minimizing the downsizing of the state’s heritage industries. All of these problems require sustained — and frankly, more creative — solutions, no matter your political leanings. But we shouldn’t be led to believe that Maine is a shrinking state with nothing to attract newcomers, or to retain the people already here.
This is just one recent example of what often passes as conventional wisdom fading when held up to the mirror of reality.
In another instance, America’s reputation as a welcoming country that has become a melting pot of cultures was burnished this month in Lawrence, Kansas.
The eastern Kansas city, home of the University of Kansas, is host to the Algerian World Cup team’s training facility.
It is easy to caricature small town Americans as ignorant racists (an image we reject), but Lawrence sent a strong reminder that such shorthand negativity misses the mark.
Thousands of locals have shown up for team practices, with some young fans getting to take the field to kick soccer balls around with international stars. Welcoming banners and art work are on display at local businesses. The university marching band quickly learned the Algerian national anthem and played it when the team first came out to practice.
The welcome offered the soccer team sadly does not diminish the very real racism and xenophobia that pervades too much of America, including the White House.
The residents of Lawrence, however, send a strong message that the American people can and do rise above the lies and hate spewed by the president, vice president and some of their backers.
“There’s a lot of unnecessary anger at people who don’t look like us, and pray like us, and walk like us, and cheer like us,” Stan Herd, an artist in Lawrence, told The Guardian. “In Lawrence, we are wide open to embracing something new. That’s the difference.”
