Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Acton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 68th of 142 graded towns in Maine, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 73% of the state's. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 61% of the country. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $79K, and 8% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $473K, 5.1 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. Acton’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both Maine’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a higher share of households owning their home than Acton.
Where Acton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Acton Elementary School | PK–8 | 256 |
| Maplestone | 7–12 | 24 |
Lincoln SchoolCensus counts: 1,398 in 1830, a low of 392 in 1940, 2,671 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 6 maps from 1891 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Acton takes its name from Acton in Suffolk, England, 3,240 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionActon, settled in 1776, takes its name from Acton, a village in Suffolk, England.
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Acton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Acton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Acton.
Acton is a second-home town, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and costs more than Shapleigh or any other town next door.
31 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Hansen Pond Preserve, at 334 acres.
| Acton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hansen Pond Preserve | 0.8 mi | 334 |
| 2. Goat Hill Trail | 0.7 mi | 25 |
| 3. Mary Grant Nature Preserve | 0.5 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Acton Public Schools. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 256 | B |
| Maplestone PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 24 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests
Acton has 271 jobs for its 1,147 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 40.4 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
Most working residents leave Acton for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Acton grew to 271 in 2023, 106 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Sanford (18%), Portland (7%) and North Berwick (5%).
| Acton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5.8% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 2000, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Acton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Hollis weather station, 15 miles away, records that 81 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Hollis weather station, 15 miles away, records that about 7 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 96% of Maine places with climate records.
Acton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Acton is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Acton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 27% | 23% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Shapleigh is next at $413K.
The typical Acton home is worth about $473,000, about the same as a year ago, 15% above the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Acton. Close and well known come first.
20 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
37 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
37 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
37 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
31 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
24 mi MuseumSeashore Trolley MuseumLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Portland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seashore Trolley Museum: Rene Schwietzke from Jena, Germany, CC BY 2.0
None within 15 miles of Acton; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Acton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Acton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Maine, United States
Acton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,671 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Acton, Miller Corner and South Acton. The town is home to the Acton Fairground, which holds the Acton Fair every late summer. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Acton.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acton | #68 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Newfield | — | — | C | — | B+ | B− |
| Shapleigh | #53 | B | B− | — | B+ | B− |
| Lebanon | #64 | B− | B | — | B− | B |
Newfield has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Acton, Newfield, Shapleigh and Lebanon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Acton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Acton grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #68 of 142 in Maine. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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