Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Gorham earns an A+, 2nd of 142 graded towns in Maine. It reports less crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $112K, and its schools outperform 89% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $540K for a typical one and 5.9 times the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. Gorham’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Maine’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On health, just 16 of Maine’s 285 towns do better. Its National Register listings include McLellan House and Academy Building.
Where Gorham beats most towns.
McLellan House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Narragansett Elementary School | PK–5 | 479 |
| Great Falls Elementary School | K–5 | 429 |
| Village Elementary School-Gorham | K–5 | 392 |
Census counts: 2,503 in 1800, 18,336 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1806 and 5 maps from 1891 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 Gorham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gorham. Close and well known come first.
14 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
12 mi LandmarkFort Gorges34 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
11 mi MuseumPortland Museum of Art
11 mi MuseumMaine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
38 mi LighthouseCape Neddick LightPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Portland Museum of Art: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum: No machine-readable author provided. Gwernol assumed (based on copyright claims), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gorham, 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 Gorham.
Gorham reports less crime than Windham or any other graded neighbor, pairs an A for schools with high home prices and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
88 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Randall Orchards Preserve, at 142 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tannery Brook Preserve | 2.7 mi | 100 |
| 2. Nelson Preserve | 1.9 mi | 37 |
| 3. Little River Preserve | 1.2 mi | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $541K.
Its public schools are run by the Gorham Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Gorham High School, with 812 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorham Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 718 | A− |
| Gorham High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 812 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Its A tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Windham (A−) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 76 to 45 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 2.3 per 1,000 residents, Gorham’s property crime rate is where Maine’s towns sit at 7.5 and U.S. towns at 9.9. The violent crime rate in Gorham is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Gorham | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
8% of adults have diabetes in Gorham. Among 143 Maine towns, just 1 have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Gorham. 26% of adults have obesity in Gorham.
| Gorham | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 23% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Gorham | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.7% | 8.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 14.8% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.8% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Gorham for work: only 13% work in town. 3.7% of Gorham residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Gorham grew to 5,900 in 2023, 1,104 more than in 2013.
| Gorham | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $112,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gorham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $4,825, against $3,036 across Maine, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Gorham’s median rent is $1,680 a month. The typical Gorham home is worth about $541,000, up 1.9% in a year, 31% above the Maine typical home.
| Gorham | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,680 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Portland Intl Jetport weather station, 9 miles away, records that 69 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 85% of Maine places with climate records. The Portland Intl Jetport weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 5 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 93% of Maine places with climate records.
Gorham has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 12°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household earns $112,312, against $74,733 across Maine, one input to its A for jobs and income.
People 65 and older are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Gorham has grown 4.9% since 2020, to 19,239 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Gorham | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 32% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.4 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 18% | 22% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Gorham | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.9% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.6% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.3% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.1% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.8% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.5% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Gorham
About 13 of every 100 Gorham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
2.6% of the town is conserved land, across 22 parks and preserves.
9 places in Gorham on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Gorham.
Town in Maine, United States
Gorham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,336 at the 2020 United States census. In addition to its urban village center known as Gorham Village or simply "the Village," the town encompasses a number of smaller, unincorporated villages and hamlets with distinct historical identities, including South Gorham, West Gorham, Little Falls, White Rock, and North Gorham. Gorham is home to one of the three campuses of the University of Southern Maine. In 2013, Gorham was voted second-best town in Maine after Hampden by a financial website. Gorham is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Initially named Narragansett Number 7, the vill…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Gorham.
At #2 in ME, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Windham (A) comes closest. Windham next door grades lower for schools (B to Gorham’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorham | #2 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
| Windham | #6 | A | B− | A− | B | A |
| Little Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Windham | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Windham | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Buxton | #31 | A− | B− | A− | C+ | A− |
| Standish | #35 | B+ | B+ | — | C+ | B+ |
| Scarborough | #12 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
Standish reports no FBI crime data of its own. Little Falls, South Windham and North Windham aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Gorham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Gorham grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #2 of 142 in Maine. It grades A for health, A for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
15 notable people were born here, including Ellen G. White and Edwin Hall.
