Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Brewer grades C overall, ranked 101st of 142 in Maine, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 12 miles of trail. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $302K for a typical one and 4.5 times the Bangor metro’s $66K median household income. Brewer’s average trip to work is 17 minutes, below both the Maine town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Its National Register listings include Penobscot Salmon Club and Pool and Brewer High School.
Where Brewer beats most towns.
Census counts: 744 in 1820, 9,672 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1849 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Brewer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brewer, 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 Brewer.
Brewer draws workers from Bangor and beyond, is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s and has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
6,968 jobs are based in Brewer, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.9 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
Most working residents leave Brewer for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Brewer has added 1,194 jobs, to 6,968 in 2023. 6.9% of Brewer workers work from home.
| Brewer | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.9% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its B, Veazie highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Brewer Public Schools. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Brewer High School, with 690 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewer Community SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 800 | B |
| Brewer High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 690 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sherwood Forest Park | 0.4 mi | 11 |
| 2. Indian Trail Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Dougherty Recreational Complex | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Bangor (C+) to Hampden (A−).
Brewer beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Brewer.
| Brewer | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Brewer | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with obesity | 39% | 32.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.3% | 7.8% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 27.3% | 23.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Brewer home is worth about $302,000, up 2.7% in a year, 27% below the Maine typical home.
| Brewer | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,086 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Bangor Intl Ap weather station records that about 6 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 89% of Maine places with climate records. July afternoons average 79.7°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 85% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9.7°.
Brewer has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Brewer’s January low is 10°F. About 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Brewer | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maine average. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine. The median age in Brewer is 40.1 years.
| Brewer | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 40.1 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 32% | 29% |
56% women, 44% men
About 80 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.6 points). Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Brewer | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.6% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.5% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.2% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 20.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 81% of Maine’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 213 to 167 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brewer. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
15 mi LandmarkFort Knox
39 mi MountainCadillac Mountain2 mi MuseumUniversity of Maine Museum of Art
38 mi MuseumAbbe Museum
24 mi MuseumPenobscot Marine MuseumAcadia National Park: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Cadillac Mountain: The original uploader was NightThree at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0 · Abbe Museum: AbbeMuseum, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Penobscot Marine Museum: John Smith, Public domain
4 within 15 miles of the center of Brewer
About 8 of every 100 Brewer residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Brewer’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Brewer on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Brewer.
City in Maine, United States
Brewer is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor metropolitan area. The city is named after its first settler, Colonel John Brewer. The population was 9,672 at the 2020 census. Brewer is the sister city of Bangor. The two are at the head of navigation on opposite sides of the Penobscot River estuary and are connected by three bridges. Brewer and Bangor were originally both part of Condeskeag Plantation, though the Brewer part was also called "New Worcester" after John Brewer's birthplace. In 1788, Orrington, Maine was incorporated with Brewer/New Worcester as its major village. The other half of Kenduskeag incorporated in 1791 as Bangor. Finally, in...
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Brewer.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewer | #101 | C | C− | B− | B | C |
| Bangor | #109 | C− | C− | D | B+ | C+ |
| Hampden | #16 | A− | C | A | A− | A− |
| Veazie | — | — | C− | A+ | A | B− |
| Orrington | #56 | B | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Holden | #37 | B+ | C | A | A− | B+ |
| Eddington | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
Veazie and Eddington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Orrington and Eddington report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brewer with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brewer grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #101 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Brewer sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
12 notable people were born here, including Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and Fannie Pearson Hardy Eckstorm.
