Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
China gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $336K, 4.9 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 17th of 142 in Maine. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Its National Register listings include Abel Jones House and Pendle Hill. China’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, where Maine’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Thurston Park, at 380 acres with 4.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where China beats most towns.
Census counts: 587 in 1800, a low of 587 in 1800, 4,408 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1815 and 5 maps from 1893 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 China is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in China, 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 China.
China pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Maine norm, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and has less tooth loss than most of Maine.
Most working residents leave China for work: only 6% work in town. China’s median household income is $96,000. Since 2013, China has lost 40 jobs, to 658 in 2023.
| China | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $96,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.4% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by RSU 18. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 242 | B+ |
| Erskine Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 552 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in China.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Maine is tooth loss: 6.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.8% statewide. Its B+ for health tops all 5 graded neighbors; Vassalboro (B) comes closest.
China beats the Maine average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of adults binge drink in China.
| China | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | China | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 14.8% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 69.4% | 63.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Albion weather station, 9 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
China has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in China is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
China grades A− overall with a typical home of about $336K, below the Maine typical value; only 6 of the 33 Maine towns graded A− or better can say that.
92% of China households own their home. The typical China home is worth about $336,000, up 2.9% in a year, 18% below the Maine typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| China | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Thurston Park | 4.6 mi | 380 |
| 2. China Community Forest | 1.8 mi | 66 |
| 3. Alonzo H. Garcelon Wildlife Management Area North | — | 117 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maine average. China has grown 5.2% since 2020, to 4,636 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| China | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.9 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 22% | 18% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 71% are men (ME 50%).
| China | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.5% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.4% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.8% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.8% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around China. Close and well known come first.
38 mi LandmarkFort Knox
40 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light
14 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
30 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
38 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
12 mi MuseumColby College Museum of ArtFort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of China
About 3 of every 100 China residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where China’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in China on the National Register of Historic Places.
Settlement in the United States
China is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,408 at the 2020 census. China is included in the Augusta, Maine, micropolitan NECTA.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with China.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Windsor (B−) comes closest.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | #17 | A− | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| Vassalboro | #135 | D | B− | — | D | B |
| Palermo | — | — | B− | — | A− | B |
| Winslow | #88 | C | C | B+ | C+ | C |
| Albion | — | — | B+ | — | C | D |
| Windsor | #67 | B− | C+ | — | A− | B− |
Palermo and Albion have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. China, Vassalboro, Palermo, Albion and Windsor report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare China with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. China grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #17 of 142 in Maine. It grades B+ for health and B+ 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.
