Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Newcastle’s subject grades are an A− for schools and incomes and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a D for cost of living. On cost of living, just 7 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Newcastle is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 68% of U.S. towns. Only 17 of Maine’s 285 towns score higher on incomes. 16% of the land in Newcastle is conserved, above both the Maine town median (4.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 17 of Maine’s 285 towns score higher on civic life. Newcastle has 6 places on the National Register. Newcastle has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Newcastle beats most towns.
Census counts: 896 in 1790, a low of 896 in 1790, 1,848 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1878 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Newcastle is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Newcastle, 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 Newcastle.
Newcastle beats the Maine average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 28% of Newcastle adults sleep under 7 hours, against 33% in Maine’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 13% of Newcastle adults binge drink.
| Newcastle | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Newcastle | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.5% | 14.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 10.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.1% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Newcastle has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Newcastle’s July high is 78°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Dodge Point Preserve, 505 acres with 6.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dodge Point Preserve | 6.1 mi | 505 |
| 2. Griggs Preserve | 1.5 mi | 56 |
| 3. Baker Forest | 0.7 mi | 149 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Newcastle for work: only 10% work in town. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Newcastle. The top destinations are Damariscotta (10%), Portland (9%) and Bath (5%).
| Newcastle | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Newcastle home is worth about $465,000, down 2.7% in a year, 13% above the Maine typical home. The median rent in Newcastle is $1,363 a month.
| Newcastle | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,363 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maine average. Newcastle has grown 3.6% since 2020, to 1,915 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Newcastle | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.4 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 32% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 18% | 22% |
Somewhere between 43% and 68% women
The Census survey reached too few of Newcastle’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±12.6 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Newcastle | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.8% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.4% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.1% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.4% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.5% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.3% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.1% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 22.1% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Newcastle since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Newcastle. Close and well known come first.
in town National MonumentFrances Perkins National Monument
15 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light
13 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens24 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
23 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art MuseumFrances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0
None within 15 miles of Newcastle; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Newcastle residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Coastal flooding makes up 9% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
6 places in Newcastle on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Newcastle.
Town in Maine, United States
Newcastle is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,848 at the 2020 census. The village of Newcastle is located in the eastern part of the town, on the Damariscotta River. Together with the village of Damariscotta linked by the Main Street bridge, they form the Twin Villages (see Damariscotta-Newcastle CDP).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Newcastle.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | — | — | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Alna | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Damariscotta | — | — | C− | — | A− | B |
| Nobleboro | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Wiscasset | #119 | C− | C− | B+ | D | B |
| South Bristol | — | — | C+ | — | — | A+ |
| Edgecomb | — | — | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Bristol | #14 | A− | B− | — | A+ | A− |
Newcastle, Damariscotta, Nobleboro, South Bristol and Edgecomb have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Newcastle, Damariscotta, Nobleboro, South Bristol, Edgecomb and Bristol report no FBI crime data of their own. Alna isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Newcastle with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 6.1 years of the area's median household income ($76,875 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 D.
4 notable people were born here, including Edward Kavanagh and E. Wilder Farley.
