Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,254. Public schools that outperform most of Maine.
Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades B+, 41st among Maine's 142 graded towns. Its public schools beat 78% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. On history, just 11 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Caesar Pond Wildlife Management Area, at 536 acres. Only 3 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Bowdoin.
Where Bowdoin beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 15% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bowdoin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 984 in 1790, a low of 467 in 1940, 3,136 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Bowdoin, 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 Bowdoin.
Bowdoin has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Bath and beyond.
Its public schools are run by RSU 75/MSAD 75. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoin Central SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 194 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Bowdoin has 306 jobs for its 1,486 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 31.8 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
Most working residents leave Bowdoin for work: only 3% work in town. Bowdoin’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, above both Maine’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Bowdoin has added 94 jobs, to 306 in 2023.
| Bowdoin | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In the comparison, Bowdoin comes above both the Maine town median (4.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 19 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Bowdoin | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Purinton Homestead Conservation Area | 1.4 mi | 139 |
| 2. Bradley Pond Farm Preserve | 0.7 mi | 38 |
| 3. Caesar Pond Wildlife Management Area | 0.5 mi | 536 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
14% of Bowdoin residents are 65 or older. Bowdoin has grown 3.8% since 2020, to 3,254 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Bowdoin | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 22% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.3 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Bowdoin | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 25.9% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.6% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.9% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.4% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
The Bath weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Bowdoin has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Bowdoin is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bowdoin tracks Maine closely on all 32 CDC measures. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Bowdoin.
| Bowdoin | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Bowdoin home is worth about $416,000, up 12.4% in a year, close to the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bowdoin. Close and well known come first.
33 mi LighthousePortland Head Light24 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
31 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
28 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light24 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
21 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical GardensPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Bowdoin
About 3 of every 100 Bowdoin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Bowdoin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Maine, United States
Bowdoin is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bowdoin is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. The population was 3,136 at the 2020 census. Bowdoin is located 36 miles (58 km) north-northeast of Portland, and 28 miles (45 km) miles south-southwest of Augusta (Maine's state capital).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Bowdoin.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoin | #41 | B+ | B | — | A− | B |
| Lisbon | #62 | B− | C+ | A− | C | B− |
| Lisbon Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Richmond | #40 | B+ | B− | A+ | — | B− |
| Topsham | #30 | A− | C | B+ | A− | A− |
| Bowdoinham | #80 | C+ | C | — | A− | B |
| Litchfield | #91 | C | B− | — | C− | B− |
Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Litchfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Lisbon Falls isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bowdoin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bowdoin grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #41 of 142 in Maine. It grades B for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
