Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Berwick grades B overall, 55th among Maine's 142 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $95K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 75% of the country. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 73% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $472K, 5.1 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. Berwick’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, where Maine’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. Among 143 Maine towns, just 2 have a higher July high than Berwick.
Where Berwick beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,894 in 1790, a low of 1,698 in 1840, 7,950 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Berwick is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berwick. Close and well known come first.
32 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
39 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
37 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
16 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
40 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
16 mi MuseumStrawbery BankeLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Portland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Strawbery Banke: Ken Gallager (Ken Gallager from en.wikipedia), Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berwick, 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 Berwick.
Berwick sends many workers across the state line to Portsmouth, is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
Berwick sits against 4.7% in Maine’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns on this measure. 48 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Grants Meadow at Beaver Dam Heath, at 174 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Newichawannock Woods | 1.1 mi | 83 |
| 2. Tuckahoe Preserve | 0.9 mi | 152 |
| 3. Grants Meadow at Beaver Dam Heath | 0.5 mi | 174 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by RSU 60/MSAD 60. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noble Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 433 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
19% of adults binge drink in Berwick. Berwick beats the Maine average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.1% of adults have diabetes in Berwick.
| Berwick | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Berwick | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.9% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.9% | 3.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.6% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
38% of working residents cross a state line to work, Portsmouth among the top destinations. Berwick has 994 jobs for its 3,598 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Berwick for work: only 6% work in town. Berwick’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Since 2013, Berwick has added 298 jobs, to 994 in 2023.
| Berwick | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 10.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 56% of Maine’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons average 81.6°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 100% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 13.2°.
Berwick has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Berwick is 13°F. About 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berwick.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
87% of Berwick households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Berwick | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,452 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 17% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 23% of residents (18% statewide). Berwick has grown 6.1% since 2020, to 8,436 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Berwick | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 23% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.7 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Berwick | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.3% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.6% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.5% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.8% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.7% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Berwick
About 4 of every 100 Berwick residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Berwick’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Berwick on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Berwick.
Town in Maine, United States
Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States, situated in the southern part of the state beside the Salmon Falls River. Today's South Berwick was set off from Berwick in 1814, while North Berwick was partitioned from the town in 1831. The population was 7,950 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of the same name located within the town has a population of 2,277. 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 Berwick.
South Berwick next door grades higher for schools (A− to Berwick’s B−) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick | #55 | B | C | B+ | B− | A− |
| South Berwick | #20 | A− | D | A | A− | A |
| North Berwick | #38 | B+ | C+ | A | B− | B+ |
| Lebanon | #64 | B− | B | — | B− | B |
Lebanon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Berwick with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Berwick grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #55 of 142 in Maine. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety 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.
5 notable people were born here, including James Sullivan and Nathan Lord.
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