The Best College Towns In Maine For 2024
By Nick Johnson & Chris Kolmar | 01/12/2024
Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality
It's actually not even close and Maine is home to a handful of them.
While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.
Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Maine are the best.
You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.
Without further ado, here are the best college towns in Maine for 2024.
While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.
And for those who live in Portland, Brunswick and Orono - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Portland ranks in terms of the best college town in America.
Even though there are only 9 cities on our list, you need to remember there are another 132 places in Maine that don't even have a college. One might say you gotta be in it in to win it.
Read on to find out more or for more on Maine check out:
Population: 68,280
% Undergrad Pop.: 13.4% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,377 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 402.4% (best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Portland: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Southern Maine, Maine College of Art, Empire Beauty School-Maine
Population: 16,725
% Undergrad Pop.: 9.6% (6th best)
Median Rent: $1,180 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 434.6% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Brunswick: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Bowdoin College
Population: 10,116
% Undergrad Pop.: 81.3% (best)
Median Rent: $1,044 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 665.0% (8th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Orono: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Maine
Population: 8,772
% Undergrad Pop.: 16.3% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $812 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 405.1% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Presque Isle: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College
Population: 18,938
% Undergrad Pop.: 29.7% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $865 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 773.9% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Augusta: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of Maine at Augusta, Capilo School of Hair Design, Kaplan University-Augusta Campus
Population: 37,577
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.5% (8th best)
Median Rent: $903 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 565.0% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Lewiston: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Bates College, Maine College of Health Professions
Population: 15,785
% Undergrad Pop.: 15.0% (4th best)
Median Rent: $883 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 445.8% (4th best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on Waterville: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Colby College, Thomas College
Population: 31,705
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (9th best)
Median Rent: $930 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 451.5% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 9th best
More on Bangor: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Eastern Maine Community College, Beal College, Husson University
Population: 22,438
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.4% (7th best)
Median Rent: $1,102 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 474.7% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Biddeford: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: University of New England
To crunch our data on Maine's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.
First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.
You might be surprised to hear that there are only 9 places in Maine with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.
Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:
We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.
We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.
Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Maine For 2024".
And it looks like Portland placed Summa Cum Laude.
If you're looking for the best college towns in Maine, you came to the right place.
These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.
For more reading, check out:
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland, ME | 68280 |
| 2 | Brunswick, ME | 16725 |
| 3 | Orono, ME | 10116 |
| 4 | Presque Isle, ME | 8772 |
| 5 | Augusta, ME | 18938 |
| 6 | Lewiston, ME | 37577 |
| 7 | Waterville, ME | 15785 |
| 8 | Bangor, ME | 31705 |
| 9 | Biddeford, ME | 22438 |
Best College Towns in Arkansas
Best College Towns in California
Best College Towns in Colorado
Best College Towns in Connecticut
Best College Towns in Illinois
Best College Towns in Kentucky
Best College Towns in Maryland
Best College Towns in Massachusetts
Best College Towns in Michigan
Best College Towns in Minnesota
Best College Towns in Mississippi
Best College Towns in Missouri
Best College Towns in Nebraska
Best College Towns in New Hampshire
Best College Towns in New Jersey
Best College Towns in New Mexico
Best College Towns in New York
Best College Towns in North Carolina
Best College Towns in Oklahoma
Best College Towns in Pennsylvania
Best College Towns in Rhode Island
Best College Towns in South Carolina
Best College Towns in South Dakota
Best College Towns in Tennessee
Best College Towns in Virginia
Best College Towns in Washington
