Annual report of the municipal officers of the town of
Bradley’s story
192 years in pictures
Census counts: 395 in 1840, 1,532 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers and 4 maps from 1902 on.
- 1834Bradley is incorporated
BradleyME
A town of 1,581, incorporated in 1834.
Population
1,581
2025 Census estimate · +3.1% since 2020
Typical home
$271K
+7.8% in a year
Household income
$77K
median
Median age
42.6
years
Jobs based here
143
A commuter town
Is Bradley a good place to live?
The best of Bradley’s subject grades is a B for cost of living; the weakest is a D for health. On health, just 24 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Bradley's public schools trail 85% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Among 144 Maine towns, just 1 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Bradley. 44% of the land in Bradley is conserved, where Maine’s towns sit at 4.7% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Bradley Public Reserved Land, 9,406 acres with 3.7 miles of trail. On civic life, just 20 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Bradley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Bradley stand out
Where Bradley beats most towns.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Bradley for work
Where Bradley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
143jobs based in Bradley
2%of working residents work in town
10 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Bradley grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bradley is from typical.
HealthLess healthy than 88% of U.S. towns; Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center 11.5 miles awayDOpen →SchoolsC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.3 of 20; 2% of households have no carCOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC+Open →Cost of livingBOpen →Jobs & income$77K median household income; 143 jobs based hereB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsC+Open →HistoryIncorporated 1834BOpen →Civic life1.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 42.6; 23% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Bradley: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bradley, and how to reach them.
PowerVersant Power30.1¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterOld Town Water DistrictNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers97% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNearest public drop-offOld Town Recycling Center, 4 miOpenStreetMap
Register to voteOnlineIn Maine you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 21 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereBradley Town ClerkThe town itself; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Oct 2026
ZIP code0441104411 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bradley.
OutdoorsC+
Conserved land covers nearly a third of Bradley
13 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. At 0.3 miles per square mile, Bradley’s trail density is against 0.7 in Maine’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
44.1%conserved
44.1%
conserved · 14,212 of 32,211 acres
13 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bradley Public Reserved Land | 3.7 mi | 9,406 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
SchoolsC−
Bradley’s grade for schools is a C−
Its public schools are run by RSU 34. Its one school is below.
15%of ME districts it outscoresC−School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viola Rand SchLargest public school before high schoolGrades PK | Grades PK | 32 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
HealthD
More of Bradley’s adults have obesity than in the typical Maine or U.S. town
40% of Bradley adults have obesity. Bradley beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 30% of Bradley adults have been diagnosed with depression.
12%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Bradley | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Maine
0 better12 too close to call20 worse
| What stands out | Bradley | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14.6% | 10.7% |
| More smokers | 19.2% | 14.4% |
| More adults in fair or poor health | 24.6% | 18.7% |
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center
11.5 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade B
A typical Bradley home is worth about $271K
The typical Bradley home is worth about $271,000, up 7.8% in a year, 34% below the Maine typical home.
$271KZillow home value
Typical home value
Bradley$271K
Maine$412K
+7.8%
value change, 1 year
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
Most of Bradley’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Bradley for work: only 2% work in town. 4.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Bradley. The top destinations are Bangor (30%), Orono (12%) and Old Town (10%).
2%work in town
| Bradley | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Bradley2%
Bangor30%
Orono12%
Old Town10%
Brewer6%
10 mi
median commute distance
143
jobs based in Bradley
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Bradley
Bradley has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Bradley’s July high is 80°F.
75″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter12–31°
Spring31–53°
Summer55–78°
Fall38–58°
Oct 6
typical first frost
May 1
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Bradley faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bradley.
57risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesWinter weather
14
paid flood claims since 1979
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Bradley
18pages on Bradley
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Bradley
University of MaineUniversity or college · Public · Orono6 mi$13,326 in-state tuitionEastern Maine Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Bangor10.8 mi$4,156 in-state tuitionHusson UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Bangor12.8 mi$23,304 tuition
About 3 of every 100 Bradley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
About Bradley
Town in Maine, United States
Bradley is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,532 at the 2020 census. The village of Bradley is in the northwestern corner of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 51 sq mi
- Elevation
- 118 ft
- ZIP code
- 04411
- Area code
- 207
Bradley’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Bradley.
OronoOld TownMilfordEddingtonAmherstCliftonBradley
How the neighbors grade
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley | — | — | B | — | C− | D |
| Orono | – | A | D | A+ | A− | B+ |
| Old Town | #105 | C− | C | B+ | C− | C+ |
| Milford | #79 | C+ | B+ | — | B+ | D |
| Eddington | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Amherst | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clifton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bradley and Eddington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bradley, Milford and Eddington report no FBI crime data of their own. Amherst and Clifton aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bradley with a neighbor →
Questions about Bradley
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bradley, ME expensive?
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($66,356 across the Bangor, ME metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.