Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fort Fairfield earns a D, 127th of 142 graded towns in Maine, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its schools rank behind 84% of the state's. What it does well: natural-hazard risk is low. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Fort Fairfield has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Philo Reed House and Fort Fairfield Public Library. Only 4 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower January low than Fort Fairfield.
Where Fort Fairfield beats most towns.
Where Fort Fairfield’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 Fort Fairfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 26 in 1840, a peak of 5,876 in 1960, 3,322 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 4 maps from 1933 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Fairfield, 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 Fort Fairfield.
Fort Fairfield gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
At 2.5 years of the county’s $57K median household income, the typical home (about $143K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. At about $143K, home values are up 10% in five years, against a rise of 27% across Maine.
The typical Fort Fairfield home is worth about $143,000, up 2.9% in a year, 65% below the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by RSU 86/MSAD 20. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Fairfield Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 188 | C+ |
| Fort Fairfield Middle/High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 238 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
75 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Fort Fairfield’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, where Maine’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 0.4. The biggest park or preserve is Nadeau Pond Access, at 24 acres.
| Fort Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nadeau Pond Access | — | 24 |
| 2. Aroostook River Access - Fort Fairfield | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
31% of Fort Fairfield adults get no exercise outside work, above both the Maine town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (25%). 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Fort Fairfield. Fort Fairfield beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Fort Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Fort Fairfield | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who get no exercise | 31.2% | 23.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13.9% | 10.7% |
| More smokers | 18.2% | 14.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 111 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Fairfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,214 working residents takes 17.2 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
Most working residents leave Fort Fairfield for work: only 12% work in town. The average trip to work in Fort Fairfield is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Fort Fairfield fell to 475 in 2023, 31 fewer than in 2013.
| Fort Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 31 to 18 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Fort Fairfield’s property crime rate is 4.6 per 1,000 residents. Maine has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Fort Fairfield sits closer to the middle.
| Fort Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
People 65 and older are 31% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (18% statewide). 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Fort Fairfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 14% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 49.7 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 32% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 73% are men (ME 50%).
| Fort Fairfield | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.5% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.1% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.6% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.5% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 9.3% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.6% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.9% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.1% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
The Caribou Muni Ap weather station, 9 miles away, records that 118 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. The Caribou Muni Ap weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Fort Fairfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 77° and January nights drop to 2°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Fairfield
About 1 of every 100 Fort Fairfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
4 places in Fort Fairfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Fort Fairfield.
Town in Maine, United States
Fort Fairfield is a town in Aroostook County, eastern Maine, United States, located along the Canada–US border. The population was 3,322 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Fort Fairfield.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Fairfield | #127 | D | B− | B+ | C− | C− |
| Presque Isle | #125 | D | C+ | C | B− | C− |
| Limestone | — | — | A− | — | D− | D |
| Easton | — | — | A | — | B+ | C− |
| Caribou | #83 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C |
Limestone and Easton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Limestone, Easton and Caribou report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Fairfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Fairfield grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #127 of 142 in Maine. It grades C− for health, B+ for safety and C− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Fort Fairfield sits nearer the middle.
That is 2.5 years of the area's median household income ($56,700 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including John H. Reed and Dick Curless.
