Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,247, organized in 1820.
Bradford’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for walkability. Bradford’s average trip to work is 39 minutes, above both the Maine town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). On walkability, just 7 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Bradford's public schools trail 71% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. On civic life, just 28 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Bradford/Lagrange Public Reserved Land, at 809 acres. Bradford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bradford beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bradford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,000 in 1840, a low of 569 in 1970, 1,184 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1933 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bradford, 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 Bradford.
40% of adults have obesity in Bradford, against 33% in Maine’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 29% of Bradford adults have been diagnosed with depression. Bradford beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Bradford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bradford | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 18.9% | 14.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13.5% | 10.7% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 23.4% | 18.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.3% of working residents work locally in Bradford. The top destinations are Bangor (38%), Orono (6%) and Brewer (6%). 8.7% of workers work from home in Bradford.
| Bradford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8.7% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bradford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bradford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Bradford is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Bradford’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Bradford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bradford/Lagrange Public Reserved Land | — | 809 |
| 2. Alder Stream Wilderness Preserve | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Bradford; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Bradford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Bradford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Maine, United States
Bradford is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,184 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
