Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Frankfort’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and schools; its weakest is a C− for walkability. On cost of living, just 16 of Maine’s 285 towns do better. 12% of the land in Frankfort is conserved, against 4.7% in Maine’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 20 of Maine’s 285 towns score lower on history. The biggest park or preserve is Frankfort Town Forest, at 1,494 acres. Frankfort has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Frankfort beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Frankfort is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 891 in 1790, a low of 468 in 1930, 1,231 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Frankfort, 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 Frankfort.
The typical Frankfort home is worth about $262,000, up 4.1% in a year, 37% below the Maine typical home. 91% of households own their home in Frankfort, where Maine’s towns sit at 81% and U.S. towns at 73%. Frankfort’s median rent is $850 a month.
| Frankfort | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $850 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No town among the 144 in Maine we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Frankfort. Since 2013, Frankfort has added 21 jobs, to 66 in 2023. The average trip to work in Frankfort is 32 minutes.
| Frankfort | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.9% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Frankfort has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 10° and about 72 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Frankfort beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 30% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Frankfort.
| Frankfort | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Frankfort | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 14.8% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 60% | 63.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Waldo Quarry | 1.2 mi | 111 |
| 2. Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area | 0.9 mi | 182 |
| 3. Mount Waldo Preserve | 0.8 mi | 142 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Frankfort since 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (40% statewide). 16% of Frankfort residents are under 18. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Frankfort | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.2 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 22% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.7 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 46.8, men 51.3.
| Frankfort | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.5% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.3% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 23.5% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.5% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.6% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.7% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.3% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,200, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Frankfort. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
7 mi LandmarkFort Knox
39 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
39 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light
35 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum29 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft verticalAcadia 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 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Frankfort
About 2 of every 100 Frankfort residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Frankfort’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Frankfort.
Town in Maine, United States
Frankfort is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,231 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
3 notable people were born here, including Charles H. Treat and Robert McKay.
