Most Americans have never been to small town Maine. However, as the Mainer who live there know, small town Maine is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Maine has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Pine Tree State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 64 of Maine’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Maine where you’d never want to live:
7.5% unemployment · $29,230 median income
11.3% unemployment · $53,250 median income
6.4% unemployment · $43,432 median income
8.5% unemployment · $27,926 median income
0.4% unemployment · $38,851 median income
5.8% unemployment · $64,096 median income
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
4.8% unemployment · $49,097 median income
4.3% unemployment · $56,250 median income
1.3% unemployment · $39,904 median income
3.8% unemployment · $45,127 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maine’s statewide median.
Maine statewide median: $407,566
Maine statewide median: $74,733
On the map
Where Maine’s worst small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Maine is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Maine, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 64 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the worst small places to live in Maine.
The full plate
Worst Small Towns In Maine
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rumford | 4,067 | 7.5% | $175,835 | $29,230 |
| 2 | Howland | 1,235 | 11.3% | $181,618 | $53,250 |
| 3 | Norway | 3,173 | 6.4% | $334,888 | $43,432 |
| 3 | Machias | 1,316 | 8.5% | $183,500 | $27,926 |
| 5 | Van Buren | 1,634 | 0.4% | $99,818 | $38,851 |
| 6 | Calais | 3,097 | 5.8% | $153,921 | $64,096 |
| 7 | Lincoln | 2,954 | 4.8% | $214,081 | $49,097 |
| 8 | Dover-Foxcroft | 2,745 | 4.3% | $233,354 | $56,250 |
| 9 | Milo | 1,347 | 1.3% | $119,300 | $39,904 |
| 10 | Newport | 1,730 | 3.8% | $257,677 | $45,127 |
| 11 | Madawaska | 3,022 | 8.7% | $151,026 | $55,666 |
| 12 | Farmington | 4,705 | 8.2% | $272,289 | $41,033 |
| 13 | Oxford | 1,106 | 7.9% | $340,773 | $56,111 |
| 14 | Mechanic Falls | 1,991 | 4.7% | $296,650 | $46,384 |
| 15 | Limestone | 1,079 | 2.9% | $106,098 | $52,607 |
| 16 | Wilton | 1,687 | 10.6% | $231,423 | $48,177 |
| 17 | Bridgton | 1,756 | 5.3% | $405,218 | $55,428 |
| 18 | East Millinocket | 1,495 | 6.3% | $169,272 | $42,011 |
| 19 | Millinocket | 3,779 | 6.8% | $149,629 | $50,445 |
| 20 | Dexter | 1,852 | 3.2% | $199,788 | $53,654 |
| 21 | Pittsfield | 3,084 | 3.9% | $195,702 | $61,458 |
| 22 | Eastport | 1,263 | 2.8% | $233,377 | $45,573 |
| 23 | Fort Kent | 2,398 | 1.8% | $187,482 | $50,513 |
| 24 | Fort Fairfield | 1,533 | 16.3% | $129,269 | $56,452 |
| 25 | Winterport | 1,057 | 4.7% | $293,368 | $75,694 |
| 26 | Mexico | 2,142 | 1.5% | $175,934 | $50,972 |
| 26 | Norridgewock | 1,378 | 2.3% | $248,079 | $66,761 |
| 28 | Madison | 2,676 | 1.0% | $213,843 | $61,698 |
| 29 | Fairfield | 2,356 | 2.3% | $235,737 | $52,409 |
| 30 | Livermore Falls | 1,409 | 0.0% | $208,951 | $45,326 |
| 30 | Boothbay Harbor | 1,047 | 0.0% | $508,754 | $49,861 |
| 32 | Searsport | 1,218 | 4.0% | $311,692 | $92,578 |
| 33 | South Paris | 2,210 | 0.0% | $266,861 | $55,074 |
| 34 | Randolph | 1,610 | 2.5% | $268,799 | $66,574 |
| 34 | Clinton | 1,381 | 5.7% | $247,110 | $70,625 |
| 36 | Bucksport | 3,105 | 10.2% | $273,130 | $62,011 |
| 37 | Farmingdale | 2,064 | 2.9% | $316,910 | $62,006 |
| 38 | Winthrop | 3,108 | 4.5% | $335,809 | $61,058 |
| 39 | Bar Harbor | 2,296 | 10.7% | $649,120 | $67,701 |
| 40 | Damariscotta | 1,100 | 10.5% | $467,224 | $67,647 |
| 41 | Fryeburg | 1,484 | 5.7% | $351,579 | $57,083 |
| 42 | Richmond | 2,089 | 4.5% | $329,883 | $73,014 |
| 43 | Oakland | 2,710 | 0.8% | $324,841 | $44,848 |
| 44 | Steep Falls | 1,861 | 1.0% | $334,462 | $80,280 |
| 45 | Freeport | 1,441 | 13.4% | $678,598 | $59,455 |
| 46 | Hallowell | 2,592 | 0.3% | $368,971 | $68,398 |
| 47 | Milford | 2,269 | 0.7% | $218,360 | $85,052 |
| 48 | Dixfield | 1,738 | 3.3% | $185,343 | $70,608 |
| 49 | Thomaston | 2,055 | 3.5% | $335,577 | $52,133 |
| 50 | Waldoboro | 1,459 | 0.0% | $332,682 | $68,895 |
| 51 | Lisbon Falls | 4,267 | 3.1% | $325,144 | $72,344 |
| 52 | West Kennebunk | 1,395 | 11.7% | $761,403 | $124,167 |
| 53 | South Eliot | 4,203 | 6.3% | $653,534 | $99,299 |
| 54 | Camden | 3,682 | 5.7% | $664,560 | $78,788 |
| 55 | North Berwick | 1,702 | 0.3% | $481,047 | $98,317 |
| 56 | Kennebunkport | 1,276 | 2.5% | $1,076,821 | $121,189 |
| 57 | Lake Arrowhead | 3,322 | 0.8% | $367,304 | $98,654 |
| 58 | South Windham | 1,212 | 0.0% | $431,888 | $133,223 |
| 59 | York Harbor | 4,240 | 2.4% | $862,539 | $100,625 |
| 60 | Falmouth Foreside | 2,051 | 5.2% | $1,174,878 | $177,411 |
| 61 | Berwick | 1,998 | 0.2% | $469,208 | $81,406 |
| 62 | Cape Neddick | 2,453 | 1.1% | $940,452 | $108,412 |
| 63 | Cumberland Center | 2,790 | 0.0% | $741,341 | $170,125 |
| 64 | Falmouth | 1,585 | 1.2% | $888,727 | $101,484 |
Source: FBI crime data + U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 64 Maine towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Maine
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Pine Tree State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Maine are Rumford, Howland, Norway, Machias, Van Buren, Calais, Lincoln, Dover-Foxcroft, Milo, and Newport. Not sold on Maine? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
