Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0In Bar Harbor, 81% of adult citizens voted for president in 2024, more than across Maine
Bar Harbor’s town government spent $33.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2023, about $6,494 per resident. That is its newest year reported to the Census Bureau. Water and other utilities ($1.6 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Bar Harbor is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
Mount Desert Community School District
Bar Harbor’s high school district, shared with Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Tremont. The schools are run by Bar Harbor, so this money is part of the budget above.
Of the $27,878 per pupil, $16,530 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Maine districts overall: 52% local, 40% state, 8% federal.
Bar Harbor · $26,121 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $6,494 per resident a year, or $17.79 a day
Schools are part of the town’s budget, so they lead the receipt: 27% of day-to-day spending.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Bar Harbor runs its own schools, so school spending is part of this budget. Comparisons are with Maine towns and townships of 2,500–9,999 that run their own schools.
$3,468 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar towns
Bar Harbor’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($3,468 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 45 Maine towns and townships of 2,500–9,999 that run their own schools: the median was $3,230, and the middle half spent $2,479–$4,008. Bar Harbor spent more than 60% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($2.4 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Maine towns and townships of 2,500–9,999 that run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Bar Harbor itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 73% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Bar Harbor reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $3,468 · 2023: $6,494. Per resident it went from $3,468 to $6,494 (up 87%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 5,594 to 5,159.
full-time in March 2025, up from 120 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $4,279 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.79% of the home’s value, vs 1.02% across Maine.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bar Harbor’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Bar Harbor’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bar Harbor →
Who’s in charge in Bar Harbor
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Bar Harbor’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The town posts agendas and minutes on barharbormaine.gov ↗.
One full-time town employee for every 42 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (5,159).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
How Bar Harbor voted in 2024
Official results for Bar Harbor’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat73.2%2,642 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican23.2%838 votesOthers: 3.6% (129 votes).
Most votes in Bar Harbor: Kamala D Harris
Maine: Harris 52.4%, Trump 45.5%
of Bar Harbor’s 4,464 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Maine: 75%.
Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).
Most votes in Bar Harbor: Angus S King Jr
Maine: Jr 52.1%, Kouzounas 34.6%
President, 2024: Bar Harbor, its county and the state
| Harris | Trump | Others | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Harbor | 73.2% | 23.2% | 3.6% | 3,609 |
| Maine | 52.4% | 45.5% | 2.1% | 831,375 |
Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bar Harbor.
- 1Your townTown governmentOfficials: barharbormaine.gov ↗
- 2Maine HouseState representatives
- 3Maine SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Maine
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Bar Harbor compares with the towns next door
Bar Harbor spent $3,468 per resident in 2022; the 4 neighbors that reported 2022 spent $976 to $6,055. Towns that run more services spend more. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Gouldsboro | $976 | $2,305 |
| Trenton | $2,689 runs schools | $2,310 |
| Lamoine | $3,389 runs schools | $2,303 |
| Mount Desert | $6,055 runs schools | $3,512 |
| Winter Harbor | estimate | $1,422 |
| Hancock | estimate | $1,869 |
| Bar Harbor | $3,468 | $4,279 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Bar Harbor’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Bar Harbor’s government
How much does Bar Harbor spend per resident?
About $6,494 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $3,468 was more than 60% of 45 Maine towns and townships of 2,500–9,999 that run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Bar Harbor?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $4,279 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.79% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.02% across Maine. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see barharbormaine.gov.
Who runs Bar Harbor’s government?
See barharbormaine.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bar Harbor yet.
How did Bar Harbor vote in 2024?
For president, Kamala D Harris 73.2%, Donald J Trump 23.2% (3,609 votes, official results). . Maine: Harris 52.4%, Trump 45.5%.
How many people work for Bar Harbor?
124 full-time and 66 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $806,553 (about $9.7M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Bar Harbor in the state legislature?
State Senate District 7 (Nicole Grohoski) and State House District 14 (Gary Friedmann). The House district also covers three neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bar Harbor’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →