The 10 Worst Small Towns In Maine For 2025

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 70 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:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Maine for 2025:

1. Howland
2. Norway
3. Rumford
4. Calais
5. Machias
6. Norridgewock
7. Lincoln
8. Millinocket
9. Woodland
10. Farmington

So what is the worst small town to call home in Maine for 2025? According to the most recent census data, Howland is the worst small town to live in Maine.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Howland home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Maine or the worst places to live in Maine.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Maine For 2025

1. Howland

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,208
Median Home Value: $101,900
Median Income: $48,021
Unemployment Rate: 13.6%

2. Norway

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,145
Median Home Value: $121,200
Median Income: $41,370
Unemployment Rate: 8.5%

3. Rumford

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,017
Median Home Value: $115,300
Median Income: $32,240
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%

4. Calais

Source: Wikipedia User P199 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,087
Median Home Value: $111,800
Median Income: $48,654
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%

5. Machias

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,395
Median Home Value: $117,800
Median Income: $28,047
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%

6. Norridgewock

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,155
Median Home Value: $173,000
Median Income: $1,000
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%

7. Lincoln

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,576
Median Home Value: $120,200
Median Income: $33,750
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%

8. Millinocket

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,111
Median Home Value: $86,500
Median Income: $42,936
Unemployment Rate: 12.2%

9. Woodland

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,059
Median Home Value: $77,900
Median Income: $46,346
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%

10. Farmington

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 4,879
Median Home Value: $161,800
Median Income: $39,646
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%

Next 10 Towns

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 2019-2023 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 – 70 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 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Maine.

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 Howland, Norway, Rumford, Calais, Machias, Norridgewock, Lincoln, Millinocket, Woodland, and Farmington.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Maine, according to science:

1. Falmouth (Pop. 1,447)
2. Kittery Point (Pop. 1,008)
3. Falmouth Foreside (Pop. 2,148)

For more Maine reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Maine

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Howland	1,208	13.6%	$101,900	$48,021
2	Norway	3,145	8.5%	$121,200	$41,370
3	Rumford	4,017	6.6%	$115,300	$32,240
4	Calais	3,087	7.4%	$111,800	$48,654
5	Machias	1,395	4.0%	$117,800	$28,047
6	Norridgewock	1,155	1.0%	$173,000	$1,000
7	Lincoln	2,576	3.9%	$120,200	$33,750
8	Millinocket	4,111	12.2%	$86,500	$42,936
9	Woodland	1,059	5.6%	$77,900	$46,346
10	Farmington	4,879	5.7%	$161,800	$39,646
11	Van Buren	1,614	0.2%	$90,200	$35,200
12	Madawaska	2,960	8.8%	$157,400	$42,708
13	Mechanic Falls	2,300	11.7%	$197,700	$50,169
14	Newport	1,469	2.7%	$162,800	$42,740
15	Dover-Foxcroft	2,758	4.7%	$137,500	$51,919
16	Milo	1,445	0.5%	$88,000	$52,660
17	Houlton	4,958	17.4%	$121,700	$52,227
18	Eastport	1,230	3.6%	$148,200	$46,205
19	Madison	2,552	0.0%	$70,800	$43,095
20	Limestone	1,120	2.5%	$91,500	$39,667
21	Wilton	1,822	14.3%	$163,500	$55,721
22	Oxford	1,135	8.6%	$175,600	$73,088
23	Pittsfield	3,078	2.2%	$151,100	$57,292
24	Mexico	2,026	2.0%	$99,600	$46,625
25	Searsport	1,264	12.3%	$292,100	$62,159
26	East Millinocket	1,545	5.4%	$73,900	$44,306
27	Dexter	1,840	1.6%	$153,200	$51,667
28	Fairfield	2,432	3.0%	$140,200	$50,718
29	Randolph	1,479	4.8%	$157,000	$52,917
30	Oakland	2,714	1.4%	$142,800	$44,846
31	Bridgton	1,666	3.8%	$239,200	$58,992
32	Chisholm	1,115	12.0%	$131,000	$59,524
33	Farmingdale	2,163	2.6%	$213,700	$50,263
34	Bucksport	3,140	5.9%	$193,800	$58,644
35	Fort Fairfield	1,632	11.0%	$145,800	$46,654
36	Livermore Falls	1,250	0.0%	$1,000	$34,091
37	Fort Kent	2,453	1.0%	$137,000	$58,750
38	Damariscotta	1,172	12.7%	$387,200	$63,696
39	Milford	2,312	2.5%	$177,400	$63,864
40	Hallowell	2,570	0.5%	$266,700	$58,811
41	Freeport	1,544	15.6%	$344,100	$48,352
42	Clinton	1,043	0.0%	$146,800	$74,706
43	Fryeburg	1,665	5.9%	$268,100	$61,944
44	Thomaston	2,021	3.8%	$258,700	$48,563
45	South Paris	2,570	0.0%	$186,300	$56,823
46	Richmond	1,946	5.1%	$221,600	$72,036
47	Bar Harbor	2,311	11.2%	$479,600	$72,750
48	Winthrop	2,666	3.4%	$240,700	$54,612
49	Blue Hill	1,066	0.0%	$343,000	$1,000
50	Steep Falls	1,720	0.0%	$241,000	$68,125
51	Winterport	1,043	0.0%	$237,900	$72,708
52	Kennebunkport	1,450	9.1%	$805,200	$118,922
53	Wiscasset	1,273	0.0%	$281,700	$91,477
54	Dixfield	1,770	3.0%	$147,900	$56,250
55	Lisbon Falls	4,185	3.4%	$237,800	$71,513
56	Lake Arrowhead	3,273	1.8%	$226,400	$84,221
57	South Windham	1,047	5.0%	$325,700	$128,108
58	North Berwick	1,811	0.5%	$296,300	$54,612
59	South Eliot	4,021	6.8%	$437,800	$96,705
60	Waldoboro	1,487	0.0%	$277,200	$66,290
61	Berwick	2,085	4.3%	$309,600	$64,864
62	West Kennebunk	1,367	8.4%	$514,700	$101,761
63	Hampden	4,937	1.7%	$270,100	$101,417
64	Camden	3,665	6.2%	$473,800	$80,897
65	Cape Neddick	2,578	6.2%	$636,100	$98,113
66	Cumberland Center	2,811	3.3%	$480,700	$145,208
67	York Harbor	3,853	1.7%	$561,700	$91,675
68	Falmouth	1,447	4.1%	$737,300	$89,625
69	Kittery Point	1,008	1.0%	$454,900	$138,185
70	Falmouth Foreside	2,148	4.7%	$674,200	$152,870