Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,078.
Machias’ best subject grades are an A for walkability, history, and civic life; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Machias, where Maine’s towns sit at 9% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 1 of Maine’s 285 towns score lower on incomes. Residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Machias has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Washington County Courthouse and Machias Post Office and Customhouse. Machias has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Machias beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 818 in 1790, a low of 818 in 1790, 2,060 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1816 and 4 maps from 1918 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Machias is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Machias, 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 Machias.
At $34,000, Machias’ median household income is below both the Maine town median ($78,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). 37% of working residents work locally in Machias. Since 2013, Machias has added 151 jobs, to 1,934 in 2023.
| Machias | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $34,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Machias Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose M Gaffney SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 321 | C |
| Machias Memorial High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 173 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
The typical Machias home is worth about $174,000, up 2.5% in a year, 58% below the Maine typical home. 50% of Machias households own their home. Among 134 Maine towns, just 6 have a lower median rent than Machias.
| Machias | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $692 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Only 1 of the 144 Maine towns we compare have a higher share of adults who feel lonely than Machias. Machias beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 25. Only 4 of the 144 Maine towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Machias.
| Machias | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Machias | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.9% | 10.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23% | 14.8% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 34.1% | 23.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The property crime rate in Machias is 3.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Machias | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Machias has chilly, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Machias’ July high is 74°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.9 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Machias River Preserve, at 359 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Machias | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Machias River Preserve | 2.4 mi | 359 |
| 2. Middle River Park | 2.1 mi | 109 |
| 3. Meserve Head Preserve | 0.5 mi | 71 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Machias; the nearest are
About 13 of every 100 Machias residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Machias’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Machias on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Machias.
Town in Maine, United States
Machias (, mə-CHY-əss) is a town in and the county seat of Washington County in Down East Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,060. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. It is home to the University of Maine at Machias and Machias Valley Airport, a small public airport owned by the town. The word Machias roughly translates in Passamaquoddy as "bad little falls", a reference to the Machias River. Machias was the site of the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Machias.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machias | — | — | B− | B+ | C− | D |
| Machiasport | — | — | B− | — | — | C− |
| Marshfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Whitneyville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Roque Bluffs | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Machias and Machiasport have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Machiasport reports no FBI crime data of its own. Marshfield, Whitneyville and Roque Bluffs aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Machias with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($56,024 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−.
11 notable people were born here, including George Stillman Hillard and Stephen Clark Foster.
