Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bucksport gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $281K, 3.9 years of the county’s $73K median household income. It grades B− overall, 70th of 142 graded towns in Maine. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Wilson Hall and James Emery House. Bucksport’s July high is 79°F, against 79°F in Maine’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
Where Bucksport beats most towns.
Bucksport Railroad Station
Census counts: 624 in 1800, a low of 624 in 1800, 4,944 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Bucksport is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bucksport, 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 Bucksport.
Bucksport is healthier than towns with similar incomes, 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.
45 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Silver Lake Trails, at 69 acres. Bucksport’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Dead River West) | 0.4 mi | 102 |
| 2. Silver Lake Trails | — | 69 |
| 3. Hancock Pond Water Access | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by RSU 25. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bucksport High School, with 361 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles Lane SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–4 | Grades 1–4 | 316 | C |
| Bucksport High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 361 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
At 9.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 62% of Maine’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Bucksport is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Bucksport | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here fell from 1,893 in 2013 to 1,143.
Most working residents leave Bucksport for work: only 15% work in town. Since 2013, Bucksport has lost 750 jobs, to 1,143 in 2023. 6.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Bucksport.
| Bucksport | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Bucksport home is worth about $281,000, down 0.5% in a year, 32% below the Maine typical home.
| Bucksport | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $882 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 81% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Bangor Intl Ap weather station, 11 miles away, 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.
Bucksport has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 10° and about 75 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 33% of residents (40% statewide); people 65 and older are 27% of residents (22% statewide). 18% of Bucksport residents are under 18. Bucksport has grown 2.5% since 2020, to 5,066 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Bucksport | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.7 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 32% | 29% |
44% women, 56% men
About 127 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±5.6 points). Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Bucksport | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.4% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.5% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.9% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.9% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 22.2% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.1% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.2% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 9,885 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bucksport’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Bucksport beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Bucksport | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Bucksport | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10% | 14.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bucksport.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bucksport. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
6 mi LandmarkFort Knox
33 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
36 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light35 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft vertical11 mi MuseumUniversity of Maine Museum of ArtAcadia 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 · Bass Harbor Head Light: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Bucksport
About 2 of every 100 Bucksport residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Bucksport’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
9 places in Bucksport on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Bucksport.
Town in Maine, United States
Bucksport is a historical town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,944 at the 2020 census. Bucksport is across the Penobscot River estuary from Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which replaced the Waldo–Hancock Bridge.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Bucksport.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucksport | #70 | B− | B | A− | B− | B− |
| Orland | — | — | B− | — | B− | A− |
| Winterport | #21 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Prospect | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orrington | #56 | B | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Verona Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Frankfort | — | — | A− | — | A− | C+ |
| Dedham | — | — | C | — | A+ | B+ |
Orland, Frankfort and Dedham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Orland, Winterport, Orrington, Frankfort and Dedham report no FBI crime data of their own. Prospect and Verona Island aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bucksport with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bucksport grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #70 of 142 in Maine. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and B− 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Dora Wiley and William B. Hincks.
