Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lewiston grades D overall, 138th among Maine's 142 graded towns, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank among the lowest in Maine on tests and graduation. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 83% of the country. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 48 places on the National Register. 34% of working residents work locally in Lewiston, against 12% in Maine’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Sen. William P. Frye House and Dr. Louis J. Martel House. Among 79 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher violent crime rate than Lewiston.
Where Lewiston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Hathorn Hall, Bates College| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Robert V. Connors Elementary School | PK–6 | 737 |
| Montello School | PK–6 | 675 |
| Raymond A. Geiger Elementary School | PK–6 | 572 |
Its 48 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Maine towns with a listing.
Census counts: 532 in 1790, 37,121 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1846 and 4 maps from 1908 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Lewiston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lewiston, 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 Lewiston.
Lewiston gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine; it also reports violent crime at about twice the Maine rate and has poverty well above the Maine rate.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D−, Durham highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Lewiston Public Schools. Two of its 15 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewiston Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 744 | D− |
| Lewiston High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,709 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
22% of adults report frequent mental distress in Lewiston. Among 143 Maine towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who feel lonely than Lewiston. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Lewiston.
| Lewiston | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Lewiston | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.2% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.7% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
20 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, at 437 acres with 2.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Lewiston | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary | 2.3 mi | 437 |
| 2. McMahon Field and Trails | 1.8 mi | 59 |
| 3. David Rancourt River Preserve | 0.8 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lewiston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Lewiston home is worth about $296,000, up 0.6% in a year, 28% below the Maine typical home. 51% of Lewiston households own their home.
| Lewiston | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $986 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 47% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime runs at 2.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Maine rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C. At 26.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 86% of Maine’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Lewiston is 13.7 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Lewiston weather station records that 65 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 92% of Maine places with climate records. July afternoons average 79.8°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 87% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 10.3°.
Lewiston has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Lewiston’s January low is 10°F.
| Lewiston | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 10°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Lewiston’s working residents works in town. Among 143 Maine towns, just 9 have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than Lewiston. The top destinations are Auburn (17%), Portland (7%) and Augusta (3%).
| Lewiston | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lewiston. Close and well known come first.
32 mi LighthousePortland Head Light30 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
30 mi LandmarkFort Gorges30 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
30 mi MuseumMaine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
30 mi MuseumPortland Museum of ArtPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, 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 · Portland Museum of Art: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Lewiston
About 10 of every 100 Lewiston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
2 colleges in town.
48 places in Lewiston on the National Register of Historic Places.
41 notable people were born in Lewiston.
City in Maine, United States
Lewiston ( LOO-is-tən) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with a population of 37,121, according to the 2020 United States census. Located in Androscoggin County, the city lies halfway between Augusta, the state capital, and Portland, the state's largest city. Lewiston forms one half of the Lewiston–Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area (known as "L/A" or "L-A"). The city has been recognized for its low cost of living, access to healthcare, and low crime rate. Prior to European settlement, the region was inhabited by the Androscoggin people, an Abenaki tribe for whom the county is named. Lewiston was first settled in 1760 and incorporated as Lewistown in 1795…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lewiston.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Auburn (D) is closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lewiston grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #138 of 142 in Maine. It grades C− for health, C for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Lewiston sits nearer the middle.
The public schools Lewiston children attend trail 100% of Maine districts on state tests and graduation, a D− School Grade.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($67,873 across the Lewiston-Auburn, ME metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
41 notable people were born here, including Patrick Dempsey and Paul LePage.
