Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mechanic Falls is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 100th among Maine's 142 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 58% of U.S. towns. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $300K for a typical one and 4.4 times the Lewiston metro’s $68K median household income. Mechanic Falls has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Elms and George Seaverns House. Only 3 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Mechanic Falls. The biggest park or preserve is True Farm Living Forest, at 178 acres.
Where Mechanic Falls beats most towns.
ElmsWhere Mechanic Falls’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 Mechanic Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,687 in 1900, 3,107 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 5 maps from 1908 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mechanic Falls, 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 Mechanic Falls.
Mechanic Falls gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and costs less than Oxford or any other town next door.
Its public schools are run by RSU 16. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elm Street School-Mechanic FallsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 241 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Mechanic Falls for work: only 6% work in town. Jobs based in Mechanic Falls grew to 651 in 2023, 51 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Auburn (21%), Lewiston (18%) and Portland (6%).
| Mechanic Falls | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mechanic Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
31% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Mechanic Falls, against 27% in Maine’s towns and 23% across U.S. towns. 37% of adults have obesity in Mechanic Falls. Mechanic Falls beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Mechanic Falls | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Mechanic Falls | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.5% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.9% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Oxford is next at $339K. Values fell 2.9% in the past year while the Maine typical home rose 1.6%.
The typical Mechanic Falls home is worth about $301,000, 27% below the Maine typical home.
| Mechanic Falls | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,076 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Poland weather station, 7 miles away, records that 80 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 79.9°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 88% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9.5°.
Mechanic Falls has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Mechanic Falls’ January low is 10°F, close to Maine’s towns (10°F) and below U.S. towns (22°F). Mechanic Falls’ July high is 80°F.
| Mechanic Falls | 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
Maine has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Mechanic Falls sits closer to the middle.
| Mechanic Falls | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The trail density in Mechanic Falls is 0.1 miles per square mile. 0.5 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Mechanic Falls | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. True Farm Living Forest | — | 178 |
| 2. Mechanic Falls Recreation Area | — | 21 |
| 3. Mechanic Falls Veterans Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Mechanic Falls
About 2 of every 100 Mechanic Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
3 places in Mechanic Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Mechanic Falls.
Town in Maine, United States
Mechanic Falls is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,107 at the 2020 census. Mechanic Falls contains the census-designated place of the same name. It is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mechanic Falls.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanic Falls | #100 | C | C | B | C− | C |
| Poland | #118 | C− | C | — | C− | B |
| Minot | #97 | C | B | — | C− | C |
| Oxford | #132 | D | B | C− | D | C− |
Poland and Minot report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mechanic Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mechanic Falls grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #100 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health, B for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Mechanic Falls sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
5 notable people were born here, including Lewis Millett and Chandler Woodcock.
