Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oxford grades D overall, ranked 132nd of 142 in Maine, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its public schools trail 87% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. The median household income is $59K, and 12% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns. Oxford’s property crime rate is 36.3 per 1,000 residents, where Maine’s towns sit at 7.4 and U.S. towns at 9.9. Only 2 of Maine’s 92 towns score lower on safety. The biggest park or preserve is Page Family Community Forest, at 549 acres.
Where Oxford beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Oxford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 69 in 1800, a low of 69 in 1800, 4,229 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1942 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Oxford takes its name from Oxford in Oxfordshire, England, 3,120 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionOxford, settled in 1831, takes its name from Oxford, a city in Oxfordshire, England.
3 more U.S. towns are named after Oxford:Oxford, MS26,773Oxford, OH22,387Oxford, CT13,311
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oxford, 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 Oxford.
Oxford gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports more crime than Norway and its other graded neighbors.
Its public schools are run by RSU 17/MSAD 17. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 307 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Norway (B) to Paris (B). At 38.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 97% of Maine’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Oxford is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,528 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oxford’s, it is less healthy than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Oxford beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Oxford. Among 143 Maine towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who worry about having enough food than Oxford.
| Oxford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Oxford | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 15.3% | 10.7% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 13.1% | 9.8% |
| More smokers | 19.2% | 14.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Oxford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Smith Bridge Preserve | 2.8 mi | 349 |
| 2. Page Family Community Forest | 0.8 mi | 549 |
| 3. McKeen Wildlife Refuge | — | 79 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Poland weather station, 11 miles away, records that 80 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 79.7°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 85% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9.1°.
Oxford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Oxford’s January low is 9°F.
| Oxford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 9°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oxford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Oxford home is worth about $339,000, down 0.5% in a year, 18% below the Maine typical home. 89% of Oxford households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Oxford has about as many jobs (1,910) as working residents, but only 243 people both live and work here.
Jobs based in Oxford fell to 1,910 in 2023, 446 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Auburn (11%), Lewiston (8%) and Portland (7%). Half commute less than 16 miles.
| Oxford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.6% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oxford. Close and well known come first.
38 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
36 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
33 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
35 mi Theme parkStory Land30 mi Ski areaSunday River146 runs · 2,322 ft vertical38 mi Ski areaAttitash Mountain Resort85 runs · 1,662 ft verticalPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Story Land: AnotherMaker, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Oxford
About 2 of every 100 Oxford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
2 places in Oxford on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, United States
Oxford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Oxford is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. The population was 4,229 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Oxford is home to the Oxford Plains Speedway, Kamp Kohut, the annual Oxford County Fair, and Oxford Casino. The town includes the village of Welchville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Oxford.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford | #132 | D | B | C− | D | C− |
| Hebron | — | — | B− | — | D | B− |
| Otisfield | — | — | C− | — | D | C− |
| Paris | #122 | D | C− | B | D | C |
| Mechanic Falls | #100 | C | C | B | C− | C |
| Norway | #133 | D | B− | B | D | D |
| Poland | #118 | C− | C | — | C− | B |
Hebron and Otisfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hebron, Otisfield and Poland report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oxford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oxford grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #132 of 142 in Maine. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.6 years of the area's median household income ($60,173 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 B.
