Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bristol's standout: its public schools beat 95% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Overall it grades A−, 14th among Maine's 142 graded towns. It is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. Bristol’s median age is 61 years, against 44.9 years in Maine’s towns and 40.5 years across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Fort William Henry and Harrington Meetinghouse. Only 2 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower July high than Bristol.
Where Bristol beats most towns.
Fort William Henry| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Consolidated School | PK–8 | 189 |
| Widest gap | Bristol | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 10.7% |
Census counts: 516 in 1790, a low of 516 in 1790, 2,834 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1780 and 3 maps from 1969 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bristol is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bristol, 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 Bristol.
Bristol has schools in the top 5% of Maine and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maine.
Its A+ ranks #3 of the 142 Maine towns we grade for schools. Its A+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Newcastle (A−) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Bristol Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Consolidated SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 189 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maine is food insecurity: 6.6% of its 728 adults worry about having enough food, against 10.7% statewide.
27% of Bristol adults sleep under 7 hours. Only 7 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Bristol. 12% of Bristol adults binge drink.
| Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Bristol | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.6% | 10.7% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 5% | 7.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.3% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 7.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $566K) costs more against local pay than in 89% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
The typical Bristol home is worth about $566,000, up 1.5% in a year, 37% above the Maine typical home. 89% of households own their home in Bristol.
| Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,051 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 923 working residents takes 17.8 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine. Jobs based here grew from 340 in 2013 to 496.
Most working residents leave Bristol for work: only 16% work in town. The average trip to work in Bristol is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Bristol grew to 496 in 2023, 156 more than in 2013.
| Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Newcastle weather station, 11 miles away, records that 79 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Newcastle weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Bristol has chilly, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Bristol’s January low is 15°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bristol.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Half Moon Pond Conservation Area, at 685 acres.
| Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crooked Farm Preserve | 2.5 mi | 129 |
| 2. La Verna Preserve | 2.2 mi | 137 |
| 3. Keyes Woods Preserve | 1.2 mi | 72 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bristol. Close and well known come first.
in town LighthousePemaquid Point Light
9 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens19 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
9 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National Monument
24 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art MuseumPemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0
None within 15 miles of Bristol; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Bristol residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Coastal flooding makes up 11% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
40.8% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
6 places in Bristol on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Bristol.
Town in Maine, United States
Bristol, known from 1632 to 1765 as Pemaquid (; today a village within the town), is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,834 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. During the 17th and early 18th century, New France defined the Kennebec River as the southern boundary of Acadia, which put Bristol within Acadia. The village was called Pemquit by the French.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Bristol.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | #14 | A− | B− | — | A+ | A− |
| South Bristol | — | — | C+ | — | — | A+ |
| Bremen | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| St. George | #86 | C | C− | — | B− | B+ |
| Newcastle | — | — | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Monhegan plantation | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Damariscotta | — | — | C− | — | A− | B |
| Friendship | — | — | B− | — | C | B+ |
South Bristol, Newcastle, Damariscotta and Friendship have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bristol, South Bristol, St. George, Newcastle, Damariscotta and Friendship report no FBI crime data of their own. Bremen and Monhegan plantation aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bristol with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bristol grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #14 of 142 in Maine. It grades A− for health and A+ for schools.
That is 7.4 years of the area's median household income ($76,875 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
6 notable people were born here, including William North and Elizabeth Upham Yates.
