Penobscot County /

Penobscot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. For U.S. Census statistical purposes, it is part of the Bangor, Maine, New England County Metropolitan Area . As of 2010, the population was 153,923. Its county seat is Bangor. Penobscot County was established on 15 February 1816 from a portion of Hancock County. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,556.14 square miles (9,210.4 km), of which 3,395.73 square miles (8,794.9 km) (or 95.49%) is land and 160.41 square miles (415.5 km) (or 4.51%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 144,919 people, 58,096 households, and 37,820 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 66,847 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.60% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.8% were of English, 17.3% United States or American, 14.0% French, 13.0% Irish and 6.7% French Canadian ancestry according to