Economy · Historical data

Employment: Top 50 Employers

A historical snapshot of Maine’s largest private-sector employers, comparing rankings, estimated employment ranges, and business categories in 2012 and 2014.

Industrial workers and machinery in a manufacturing facility

The rank of private-sector employment by Maine firms varies with long- and short-term changes in the economy. This archived table compares the fifty largest private employers reported for the first quarter of 2012 and the second quarter of 2014.

In the 2014 list, general medical and surgical hospitals formed the largest business category. Combined with medical and social services, these organizations represented 34% of the employers in the top 50. Retail businesses represented another 18%.

Using the midpoint of each reported employment range as an estimate, retail businesses accounted for approximately 31% and general medical and surgical hospitals approximately 30% of employment represented by the list.

At a glance

What the 2014 list shows

The dataset emphasizes the scale of health care and retail while also reflecting shipbuilding, financial services, paper, education, utilities, manufacturing, and transportation.

Private employers

Organizations ranked in the historical statewide list.

34%

Medical and social services

Share of listed employers identified with these fields.

18%

Retail businesses

Share of the top 50 represented by retail stores.

Complete dataset

2012–2014 ranking comparison

Scroll horizontally on a small screen to compare rank, employer, reported employee range, and business description.

Historical rankings of Maine private employers; NL means not listed in 2012.
2012 rank	2014 rank	Business name	Employee range	Business description
1	1	Hannaford Bros	7,501–8,000	Supermarkets
2	2	Walmart/Sam’s Club	7,001–7,500	Discount department stores
2	3	Maine Medical Center	6,501–7,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
4	4	Bath Iron Works	5,001–5,500	Ship building and repairing
3	5	L.L.Bean, Inc.	4,001–4,500	Mail order houses
6	6	Eastern Maine Medical Center	3,501–4,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
10	7	MaineGeneral Medical Center	3,001–3,500	General medical/surgical hospitals
9	8	Central Maine Healthcare	3,001–3,500	General medical/surgical hospitals
7	9	TD Bank	2,501–3,000	Commercial banking
8	10	Unum Provident	2,501–3,000	Direct life insurance carriers
11	11	Shaw’s Supermarkets	2,001–2,500	Supermarkets
18	12	Webber Hospital Association	1,501–2,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
12	13	Mercy Hospital	1,501–2,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
15	14	Home Depot	1,501–2,000	Home centers
20	15	Lowe’s Home Centers	1,001–1,500	Home centers
13	16	Verso Paper	1,001–1,500	Paper, except newsprint, mills
22	17	Goodwill Industries	1,001–1,500	Vocational rehabilitation services
17	18	S. D. Warren	1,001–1,500	Paper, except newsprint, mills
32	19	Circle K	1,001–1,500	Gasoline stations and convenience stores
14	20	Pratt & Whitney Aircraft	1,001–1,500	Aircraft engine and engine parts manufacturing
16	21	St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center	1,001–1,500	General medical and surgical hospitals
19	22	Rite Aid of Maine	1,001–1,500	Pharmacies and drug stores
21	23	Jackson Laboratory	1,001–1,500	Research and development, biotechnology
23	24	Bowdoin College	1,001–1,500	Colleges and universities
25	25	University of New England	1,001–1,500	Colleges and universities
27	26	Mid Coast Hospital	1,001–1,500	General medical/surgical hospitals
NL	27	Maine Behavioral Health Center	1,001–1,500	Outpatient mental health centers
26	28	York Hospital	1,001–1,500	General medical and surgical hospitals
35	29	IDEXX Laboratories	1,001–1,500	Pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing
NL	30	Aroostook Medical Center	1,001–1,500	General medical/surgical hospitals
NL	31	Penobscot Bay Medical Center	501–1,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
34	32	Central Maine Power Company	501–1,000	Electric power distribution
NL	33	New Balance Shoe	501–1,000	Footwear manufacturing
40	34	United Parcel Service	501–1,000	Couriers and express delivery services
33	35	Spurwink Services	501–1,000	Individual and family services
36	36	Bates College	501–1,000	Colleges and universities
39	37	Attendant Services	501–1,000	Services for elderly and disabled people
43	38	Marden’s	501–1,000	Discount department stores
47	39	C. N. Brown	501–1,000	Fuel dealers
50	40	St. Joseph Hospital	501–1,000	General medical/surgical hospitals
42	41	North Country Associates	501–1,000	Nursing care and skilled nursing
46	42	Cianbro Corporation	501–1,000	Highway, road, and bridge construction
48	43	Colby College	501–1,000	Colleges and universities
NL	44	FIA Card Services	501–1,000	Credit card issuing
29	45	Dead River Company	501–1,000	Fuel dealers
NL	46	Time Warner	501–1,000	Wired telecommunications carriers
NL	47	Pine State Trading Company	501–1,000	Wine and spirit wholesalers
41	48	Anthem Health Systems	501–1,000	Direct health and medical insurance
NL	49	Bonney Staffing Center	501–1,000	Temporary help services
NL	50	Manpower	501–1,000	Temporary help services

Source and method

Source: Maine Department of Labor, Center for Workforce Research and Information. The original dataset was consulted for this historical comparison in 2014.

NL means the employer was not listed in the 2012 ranking. Employment shares discussed above use the midpoint of each reported range and should be read as estimates.

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FAQ

Understanding the employer table

Important qualifications for reading and comparing this historical dataset.

Does this table show Maine’s current largest employers?

No. It is an archival comparison of rankings reported for 2012 and 2014. It should not be used as a current employer ranking.

Are the employee figures exact?

No. Each organization is assigned an employment range. The text’s workforce-share estimates use the midpoint of those ranges.

What does “NL” mean?

NL means that an employer appearing in the 2014 table was not listed in the 2012 ranking.

Does the table include public-sector employers?

The source page identifies this as a private-sector employer ranking, so it is not a complete picture of all employment in Maine.

Why might employer names now look unfamiliar?

Organizations can merge, rebrand, close, change ownership, or restructure. The table retains names associated with the historical dataset.

How should the industry percentages be interpreted?

They describe this particular top-50 list and do not represent the percentage of Maine’s entire workforce employed in each industry.