Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine. It is the principal city of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Penobscot County. As of 2008, Bangor is the third most-populous city in Maine, as it has been for more than a century. The population of the city was 33,039 at the 2010 census; the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area, 153,923. Bangor is the largest market town, distribution center, transportation hub, and media center in a five-county area whose population tops 330,000 and which includes Penobscot, Piscataquis, Hancock, Aroostook, and Washington counties. Bangor is about 30 miles from Penobscot Bay up the Penobscot River at its confluence with the Kenduskeag Stream. It is connected by bridge to the neighboring city of Brewer. Nearby towns include Orono (home of the University of Maine campus), Hampden, Hermon, Old Town, Glenburn, and Veazie.