Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bar Harbor grades A− overall, 18th among Maine's 142 graded towns. It has 84 miles of trail and 38% conserved land. Its schools rank ahead of 95% of Maine towns and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 85% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $661K, 9.1 years of the county’s $73K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Bar Harbor, where Maine’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 29%. Its National Register listings include Redwood and Eegonos. On walkability, just 14 of Maine’s 285 towns do better.
Where Bar Harbor beats most towns.
Highseas
Its 24 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Maine towns with a listing.
Census counts: 400 in 1800, 5,089 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1877 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bar Harbor is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for schools (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 12%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bar Harbor. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
in town MountainCadillac Mountain
29 mi LandmarkFort Knox
13 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light
in town MuseumAbbe Museum
33 mi MuseumPenobscot Marine MuseumAcadia National Park: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cadillac Mountain: The original uploader was NightThree at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0 · Fort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Bass Harbor Head Light: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Abbe Museum: AbbeMuseum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Penobscot Marine Museum: John Smith, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bar Harbor, 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 Bar Harbor.
Bar Harbor has schools in the top 5% of Maine, draws workers from Ellsworth and beyond and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Maine.
Its 15,072 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Maine towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 143 in Maine.
84 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. Bar Harbor’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. Acadia National Park, at 12,932 acres with 66.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Acadia National Park | 66.3 mi | 12,932 |
| 2. Stone Barn Farm Preserve | 1.8 mi | 133 |
| 3. Kittredge Brook Forest | 1.3 mi | 521 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A+ ranks #3 of the 142 Maine towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $661K.
Its public schools are run by Mt Desert CSD. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Mt Desert Island High School, with 453 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conners-Emerson SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 346 | A+ |
| Mt Desert Island High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 453 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
At 9.1 years of the county’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $661K) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical Bar Harbor home is worth about $661,000, up 1% in a year, 61% above the Maine typical home.
| Bar Harbor | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,106 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4,166 jobs are based in Bar Harbor, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
57% of Bar Harbor’s working residents work right in town. The average trip to work in Bar Harbor is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Bar Harbor grew to 4,166 in 2023, 489 more than in 2013.
| Bar Harbor | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Maine is tooth loss: 9.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.8% statewide.
Bar Harbor beats the Maine average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults have obesity in Bar Harbor.
| Bar Harbor | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Bar Harbor | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.4% | 14.8% |
| Fewer smokers | 11.4% | 14.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bar Harbor.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 77.2°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 14°.
Bar Harbor has cold winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain.
| Bar Harbor | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 79°F | 85°F |
| January low | 14°F | 10°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bar Harbor
About 11 of every 100 Bar Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
37.6% of the town is conserved land, across 14 parks and preserves.
24 places in Bar Harbor on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Bar Harbor.
Town in Maine, United States
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laboratory. During summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination. Bar Harbor is also home to the largest parts of Acadia National Park, including Cadillac Mountain, the highest point within 25 miles (40 km) of the coastline of the Eastern United States. From the mainland, Bar Harbor is accessible by road via Maine State Route 3. The island is directly accessible by air at Hancock County–Bar Harbor Airport, and by ferry from Winter Harbor, Maine, and Ya…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Bar Harbor.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Harbor | #18 | A− | D | A | A+ | A− |
| Gouldsboro | — | — | C+ | A+ | C | B |
| Trenton | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Lamoine | — | — | C+ | — | A+ | B+ |
| Mount Desert | — | — | C− | — | A+ | A |
| Winter Harbor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hancock | #112 | C− | C+ | — | D | B+ |
Gouldsboro, Trenton, Lamoine and Mount Desert have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Trenton, Lamoine, Mount Desert and Hancock report no FBI crime data of their own. Winter Harbor isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bar Harbor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bar Harbor grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #18 of 142 in Maine. It grades A− for health, A for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
18 notable people were born here, including Nelson Rockefeller and Charles O. Hobaugh.
