Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,912, incorporated in 1788.
Orrington grades B overall, 56th of 142 graded towns in Maine, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $95K. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 70% of the country. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $336K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Bangor metro’s $66K median household income. Orrington’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in Maine’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Fields Pond Audubon Center, at 158 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Orrington beats most towns.
Census counts: 477 in 1790, a low of 477 in 1790, 3,812 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2014 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Orrington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orrington, 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 Orrington.
Orrington sends most of its workers to Bangor and beyond and has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
Orrington sits where Maine’s towns sit at 4.8% and U.S. towns at 4.3% on this measure. 37 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fields Pond Audubon Center | 1.9 mi | 158 |
| 2. Orrington Picnic Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Orrington Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center Drive SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 346 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Orrington has 351 jobs for its 1,973 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Orrington for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Orrington grew to 351 in 2023, 82 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Orrington is 21 minutes.
| Orrington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
83% of adults had a checkup this year in Orrington. Orrington beats the Maine average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 7.5% of adults worry about having enough food in Orrington.
| Orrington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 11% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Orrington | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.1% | 14.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.5% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Bangor Intl Ap weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 6 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 89% of Maine places with climate records.
Orrington has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Orrington’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
89% of Orrington households own their home. The typical Orrington home is worth about $336,000, up 3.3% in a year, 19% below the Maine typical home.
| Orrington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,167 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maine average. Orrington has grown 2.6% since 2020, to 3,912 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Orrington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.5 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 32% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 16% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 21% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Orrington | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.2% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.7% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.9% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.6% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.9% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.8% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.6% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.7% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,900, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Orrington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
9 mi LandmarkFort Knox
35 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
39 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light8 mi MuseumUniversity of Maine Museum of Art38 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft verticalAcadia National Park: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Cadillac Mountain: The original uploader was NightThree at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0 · Bass Harbor Head Light: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Orrington
About 4 of every 100 Orrington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Orrington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Orrington.
Town in Maine, United States
Orrington is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,812 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Orrington.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orrington | #56 | B | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Hampden | #16 | A− | C | A | A− | A− |
| Bucksport | #70 | B− | B | A− | B− | B− |
| Winterport | #21 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Holden | #37 | B+ | C | A | A− | B+ |
| Brewer | #101 | C | C− | B− | B | C |
Orrington and Winterport report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Orrington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Orrington grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #56 of 142 in Maine. It grades B+ for health 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 C.
Orrington was incorporated in 1788 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 4 notable people were born here, including Benjamin Franklin Mudge and Ebenezer M. Chamberlain.
