Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oakland is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, ranked 33rd of 142 in Maine, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 67% of Maine towns. A typical home there costs about $333K, 4.8 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. Oakland has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Pressey House and Memorial Hall. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. Among 143 Maine towns, just 10 have a higher share of children under 18 than Oakland.
Where Oakland beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,647 in 1880, 6,230 in 2020. The archive holds 25 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Oakland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oakland, 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 Oakland.
Oakland gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, trades workers with Waterville and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s.
23 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Pleasant Point Park, at 30 acres. Oakland’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile, where Maine’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Oakland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pleasant Point Park | 0.2 mi | 30 |
| 2. Wrigley Recreation Area | — | 14 |
| 3. Oakland Overlook | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messalonskee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 495 | B |
| Messalonskee High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 695 | A− |
| Williams Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 222 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
At 8.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 65% of Maine’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The New Sharon weather station, 14 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. The New Sharon weather station, 14 miles away, records that about 3 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 84% of Maine places with climate records.
Oakland has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Oakland’s July high is 79°F, against 79°F in Maine’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
65.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.4% across Maine.
The typical Oakland home is worth about $333,000, up 2.2% in a year, 19% below the Maine typical home. Oakland’s median rent is $939 a month.
| Oakland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $939 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Oakland has about as many jobs (2,737) as working residents, but only 424 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,100 in 2013 to 2,737.
Most working residents leave Oakland for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Oakland grew to 2,737 in 2023, 637 more than in 2013. 8.4% of workers work from home in Oakland.
| Oakland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.4% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Oakland beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 13% of Oakland adults binge drink.
| Oakland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Oakland | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.3% | 14.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oakland. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
19 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
8 mi MuseumL. C. Bates Museum39 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft vertical
5 mi MuseumRedington Museum
19 mi GardenViles ArboretumColby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · L. C. Bates Museum: W.A. Judge, Public domain · Redington Museum: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Viles Arboretum: eddie welker from Laurel, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Oakland
About 5 of every 100 Oakland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maine.
4 places in Oakland on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, United States
Oakland is a town in Kennebec County in the U.S. state of Maine. The population was 6,230 at the 2020 census. Oakland is 4 miles (6 km) west of Waterville and approximately 18 miles (29 km) north of Augusta, the state capital.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oakland.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Belgrade (B+) comes closest.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | #33 | B+ | B | A− | B+ | B− |
| Belgrade | #45 | B+ | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Waterville | #137 | D | C+ | C− | C− | C |
| Smithfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sidney | #95 | C | C | — | B+ | C |
Belgrade and Sidney report no FBI crime data of their own. Smithfield isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Oakland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Oakland grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #33 of 142 in Maine. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
