The 10 Worst Small Towns In Maine For 2023


We used Saturday Night Science to determine the worst small towns in Maine.

By: Nick Johnson | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: October 14, 2023

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 71 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:

These are the worst small towns in Maine for 2023:

  1. Machias
  2. Calais
  3. Madison
  4. Howland
  5. Wilton
  6. Mars Hill
  7. Van Buren
  8. Rumford
  9. Oxford
  10. Lincoln

So what is the worst small town to call home in Maine for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Machias 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 Machias 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.

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

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Maine For 2023

1. Machias

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,396
Median Home Value: $105,000 (18th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.1% (4th worst)

2. Calais

Calais, ME

Source: Wikipedia User P199 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,010
Median Home Value: $100,300 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 9.8% (12th worst)

3. Madison

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,516
Median Home Value: $70,800 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.1% (7th worst)

4. Howland

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,096
Median Home Value: $87,800 (10th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 9.4% (13th worst)

5. Wilton

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,451
Median Home Value: $132,000 (32nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.2% (2nd worst)

6. Mars Hill

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,004
Median Home Value: $94,600 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.8% (28th worst)

7. Van Buren

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,596
Median Home Value: $84,600 (9th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 2.0% (56th worst)

8. Rumford

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,891
Median Home Value: $83,900 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (25th worst)

9. Oxford

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 1,043
Median Home Value: $154,000 (37th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.1% (3rd worst)

10. Lincoln

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,588
Median Home Value: $113,500 (26th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 1.2% (62nd worst)

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 2017-2021 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 – 71 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 2023, 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.

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

  1. Cape Neddick (Pop. 2,485)
  2. York Harbor (Pop. 3,819)
  3. Falmouth Foreside (Pop. 1,811)

For more Maine reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Maine

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Machias 1,396 14.1% $105,000
2 Calais 3,010 9.8% $100,300
3 Madison 2,516 12.1% $70,800
4 Howland 1,096 9.4% $87,800
5 Wilton 1,451 20.2% $132,000
6 Mars Hill 1,004 4.8% $94,600
7 Van Buren 1,596 2.0% $84,600
8 Rumford 3,891 5.1% $83,900
9 Oxford 1,043 18.1% $154,000
10 Lincoln 2,588 1.2% $113,500
11 Fairfield 2,185 7.1% $104,200
12 Dover-Foxcroft 2,560 7.3% $103,700
13 Madawaska 2,907 12.8% $121,600
14 Eastport 1,226 6.4% $111,600
15 Woodland 1,035 2.8% $64,700
16 Norway 2,557 8.0% $113,000
17 Newport 1,549 4.4% $153,000
18 Dexter 1,940 6.4% $104,700
19 Milo 1,563 2.0% $67,200
20 Wiscasset 1,318 3.1% $215,500
21 Norridgewock 1,278 0.0% $151,600
22 Fort Fairfield 1,547 11.5% $108,000
23 Greenville 1,116 8.5% $182,600
24 Randolph 1,595 4.7% $127,500
25 Livermore Falls 1,667 7.4% $90,200
26 Pittsfield 2,994 2.7% $114,500
27 Millinocket 4,127 9.3% $74,800
28 Fryeburg 1,449 7.5% $197,900
29 Chisholm 1,007 12.3% $113,200
30 Farmington 4,424 3.2% $166,200
31 East Millinocket 1,581 4.2% $63,200
32 Fort Kent 2,409 3.1% $102,200
33 Milford 2,400 4.0% $108,700
34 Bucksport 2,996 9.0% $150,100
35 Limestone 1,266 1.8% $76,700
36 Clinton 1,284 0.0% $109,700
37 Mechanic Falls 2,142 5.1% $131,600
38 Waldoboro 1,476 0.0% $168,800
39 Mexico 1,859 2.3% $80,100
40 Dixfield 1,383 1.9% $107,100
41 Searsport 1,279 21.1% $230,600
42 Winterport 1,275 3.5% $171,200
43 South Paris 2,169 4.3% $142,000
44 Bridgton 1,726 4.4% $180,600
45 Richmond 1,861 4.6% $180,100
46 Damariscotta 1,314 3.1% $276,900
47 Blue Hill 1,401 0.0% $346,400
48 Hallowell 2,542 2.9% $219,700
49 Winthrop 2,407 5.1% $188,700
50 Oakland 2,368 1.0% $125,000
51 Steep Falls 1,677 0.0% $197,500
52 North Berwick 1,750 0.0% $276,800
53 Boothbay Harbor 1,103 1.5% $263,500
54 Farmingdale 2,355 1.1% $168,300
55 Thomaston 2,075 2.1% $203,800
56 Lisbon Falls 4,213 3.3% $169,200
57 Lake Arrowhead 3,007 2.1% $172,700
58 Berwick 1,725 4.6% $223,700
59 West Kennebunk 1,119 12.0% $415,500
60 Freeport 1,828 10.6% $270,000
61 Kennebunkport 1,402 4.1% $566,100
62 Bar Harbor 2,018 11.5% $333,000
63 Hampden 4,325 1.9% $234,600
64 Camden 3,713 5.1% $340,600
65 Cumberland Center 2,956 4.7% $377,800
66 South Eliot 3,342 1.8% $363,200
67 Kittery Point 1,017 3.6% $443,600
68 Falmouth 1,728 4.0% $469,300
69 Cape Neddick 2,485 3.8% $495,800
70 York Harbor 3,819 0.0% $452,200
71 Falmouth Foreside 1,811 2.4% $581,300
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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One thought on “The 10 Worst Small Towns In Maine For 2023”

  1. Wow! I would think you’d do some research! The populations you have of these towns are super low! You are way off!

    Reply

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