Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Old Orchard Beach is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 89th among Maine's 142 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 63% of U.S. towns. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $509K, 5.5 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Old Orchard Beach, against 21% in Maine’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. No town among the 143 in Maine we compare has a lower share of children under 18 than Old Orchard Beach. Its National Register listings include Ocean Park Historic Buildings and Staples Inn.
Where Old Orchard Beach beats most towns.
Temple, The
Census counts: 887 in 1890, 8,960 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1891 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 Old Orchard Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Old Orchard Beach. Close and well known come first.
10 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
11 mi LandmarkFort Gorges32 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
in town Theme parkPalace Playland
4 mi Theme parkFuntown Splashtown USA
11 mi MuseumSeashore Trolley MuseumPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Palace Playland: Andrew Malone, CC BY 2.0 · Funtown Splashtown USA: Paulec252, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Seashore Trolley Museum: Rene Schwietzke from Jena, Germany, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Old Orchard Beach, 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 Old Orchard Beach.
Old Orchard Beach is healthier than towns with similar incomes and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
The biggest park or preserve is Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area, at 272 acres. In 7 parks and preserves, walkers have 16 miles of trail. Old Orchard Beach’s density of trails is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge | 0.5 mi | 31 |
| 2. Blueberry Plains Conservation Area | 0.4 mi | 10 |
| 3. Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. RSU 23 runs its public schools. 3 public schools serve Old Orchard Beach, with 614 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loranger Memorial SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 3–8 | Grades 3–8 | 251 | C− |
| Old Orchard Beach High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 186 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Since 2013, Old Orchard Beach has added 97 jobs, to 1,242 in 2023. Just 9% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Among residents locally, 15% live below the poverty line. Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
43% of Old Orchard Beach adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. Children under 18 are 7% of residents (18% statewide); people 65 and older are 34% of residents (22% statewide). This Maine town is growing: up 6.4% since 2020, to 9,533 residents (2025 estimate). Its age of the median resident is 58 years.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 58 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 32% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Old Orchard Beach | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.6% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 1.9% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.1% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.8% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 21.2% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.3% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.7% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 14% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.1% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.7% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
215 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 215 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Old Orchard Beach. 43% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 24%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of households in Old Orchard Beach who are owner-occupiers: 68%. The typical home value here is about $509,000, up 1.8% in a year, 24% above the Maine typical home. A home in Old Orchard Beach typically sold within 32 days of listing.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,246 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Portland Intl Jetport weather station, 9 miles away, records that 69 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 85% of Maine places with climate records. The Portland Intl Jetport weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 5 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 79% of Maine places with climate records.
July afternoons reach 79° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,924 U.S. towns with household incomes like Old Orchard Beach’s, it is healthier than 88%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
13% of adults smoke cigarettes in Old Orchard Beach. Of 32 CDC measures, Old Orchard Beach beats the Maine average on 2 and trails it on 4. Among adults locally, 29% feel lonely and 39% have high blood pressure.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Old Orchard Beach | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.1% | 76.4% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 89.6% | 87.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.2% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 137 to 97 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Maine has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Old Orchard Beach sits closer to the middle. The rate of reported violence for Old Orchard Beach comes to 1.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Old Orchard Beach | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of Old Orchard Beach
About 7 of every 100 Old Orchard Beach residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maine.
Coastal flooding makes up 14% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
22.5% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
4 places in Old Orchard Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, United States
Old Orchard Beach is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Located on the inner side of Saco Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is a popular seaside resort. The downtown contains many tourist-oriented businesses, including clam shacks and T-shirt shops. A wooden pier on the beach contains many other tourist businesses, including a variety of souvenir shops. The town's seven-mile (11 km) long beach extends into the towns of Scarborough and Saco, and is lined with many beach residential properties, condominiums, motels and bed and breakfasts.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Old Orchard Beach.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Orchard Beach | #89 | C | C | B | C | B |
| Saco | #22 | A− | C | B | A− | A− |
| Scarborough | #12 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Old Orchard Beach grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #89 of 142 in Maine. It grades B for health, B for safety and C for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Old Orchard Beach 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.
