Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,848, incorporated in 1851. Public schools that outperform most of Maine.
Chelsea grades B overall, 51st among Maine's 142 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 82% of Maine towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $85K. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 68% of the country. A typical home there costs about $329K, 4.8 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. Chelsea’s average trip to work is 36 minutes, above both the Maine town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 21 of Maine’s 285 towns score lower on civic life. Chelsea has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Governor's House and John Davis House.
Where Chelsea beats most towns.
Where Chelsea’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Chelsea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Governor's House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,024 in 1860, 2,778 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1815 and 3 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chelsea, 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 Chelsea.
Chelsea draws workers from Augusta and beyond and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
2,165 jobs are based in Chelsea, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 36.4 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Chelsea has added 397 jobs, to 2,165 in 2023. The top destinations are Augusta (36%), Gardiner (6%) and Bath (4%).
| Chelsea | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 7.7% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by RSU 12. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 262 | C |
| Spurwink-Chelsea PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 2–12 | Grades 2–12 | 35 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
13% of adults binge drink in Chelsea. Chelsea beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Chelsea.
| Chelsea | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chelsea | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.6% | 15.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13.5% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Chelsea | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Butternut Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Judy Kane Preserve | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Gardiner weather station records that 69 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 81% of Maine places with climate records. The Gardiner weather station records that about 5 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 79% of Maine places with climate records.
Chelsea has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Chelsea’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
89% of Chelsea households own their home. The typical Chelsea home is worth about $329,000, about the same as a year ago, 20% below the Maine typical home. The median rent in Chelsea is $1,373 a month.
| Chelsea | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,373 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Chelsea since 1987.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chelsea. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
32 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light36 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
27 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
20 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National MonumentMaine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pemaquid 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Chelsea
About 3 of every 100 Chelsea residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
3 places in Chelsea on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, United States
Chelsea is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,778 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Togus Springs Hotel and Veterans Administration facilities.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Chelsea.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | #51 | B | B | — | A− | C |
| Hallowell | #27 | A− | C | A | B | B |
| Farmingdale | #93 | C | B− | — | B | C+ |
| Pittston | #92 | C | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Randolph | — | — | B− | — | B− | B− |
| Augusta | #140 | D− | C+ | D | D | C |
| Whitefield | — | — | B+ | — | A− | B− |
Randolph and Whitefield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Chelsea, Farmingdale, Pittston, Randolph and Whitefield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Chelsea with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Chelsea grades B overall, better than 62% of U.S. towns and #51 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
Chelsea was incorporated in 1851 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including John F. Chase and Thelma C. Swain.
