Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Where it falls short is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $554K, 6 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. With a C overall, Portland is better than a quarter of U.S. towns and ranks 102nd of 142 in Maine. Walkability is its strong suit (A+). Health is a strength too — it is healthier than 85% of U.S. towns. It also trails on schools (D): its public schools trail 89% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Its National Register listings include Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Tate House. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 99 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Portland beats most towns.
Wadsworth-Longfellow House is one of 7 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 99 National Register listings are more than in any other Maine town with a listing.
Census counts: 2,240 in 1790, 68,408 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1782 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Portland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portland. Close and well known come first.
in town LighthousePortland Head Light
in town LandmarkFort Gorges22 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
in town MuseumPortland Museum of Art
in town MuseumMaine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
38 mi LighthouseCape Neddick LightPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Portland Museum of Art: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0 · Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum: No machine-readable author provided. Gwernol assumed (based on copyright claims), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portland, 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 Portland.
Portland draws workers from South Portland and beyond, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Maine rate and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maine.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 143 in Maine.
Portland’s density of trails is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the Maine town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Walkers can cover 69 miles of trail in 66 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Peaks Island Land Preserve, 161 acres with 5.5 miles of trail.
| Portland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peaks Island Land Preserve | 5.5 mi | 161 |
| 2. Evergreen Cemetery Woods | 2.6 mi | 109 |
| 3. Ocean Avenue Recreation Area | 2.5 mi | 95 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Portland Public Schools runs its public schools. Three of the 25 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public school enrollment locally: 2,548 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Lyseth Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 489 | C |
| Portland High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 912 | – |
| Baxter Academy for Tech & SciencesTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 384 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
70,429 jobs are based in Portland, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 24.8% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Maine.
Jobs in Portland grew by 7,677 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 70,429. The town’s mean commuting time is 19 minutes, below both Maine’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are South Portland (9%), Westbrook (7%) and Scarborough (5%). For half of commuters, work is under 4 miles away.
| Portland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 48% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 25% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among adults in Portland, 30% have high blood pressure. Only 6 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Portland. Two figures for adults locally: 17% get no exercise outside work, 18% binge drink. CDC measures, 32 in all: Portland beats Maine on 15 and trails on 3.
| Portland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 23% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Portland | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.7% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.2% | 7.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 18.3% | 15.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in just over four fifths of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Portland, 33% come from inland flooding and 25% from hurricanes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Portland after 13 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 6 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income, the typical home (about $555K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $5,601, against $3,036 across Maine, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A typical home in Portland is worth about $555,000, about the same as a year ago, 35% above the Maine typical home. The town’s rent at the middle of the market is $1,577 a month. A home in Portland typically sold within 41 days of listing.
| Portland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,577 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 47% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime runs at 2.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Maine rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C. Each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Westbrook (B−) to Cape Elizabeth (A+). Reported crimes rose from 1,326 to 1,514 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 79 Maine towns, just 2 have a higher violent offense rate than Portland. For Portland, the property offense rate is 19.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Portland | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Portland Intl Jetport weather station, 6 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, 6 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
3 within 15 miles of the center of Portland
About 7 of every 100 Portland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maine.
4.6% of the town is conserved land, across 66 parks and preserves.
99 places in Portland on the National Register of Historic Places.
34 notable people were born in Portland.
Most populous city in Maine, United States
Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine. Its population was 68,408 at the 2020 census and the Greater Portland metropolitan area has a population of approximately 550,000 people, the most populous metropolitan area in Maine. It is the county seat of Cumberland County. Historically tied to commercial shipping, the marine economy, and light industry, Portland's economy in the 21st century relies mostly on the service sector. The Port of Portland is the second-largest tonnage seaport in the New England area as of 2019. First settled in the early 1600s as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the city endured multiple attacks during colonial conflicts before emerging as a …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Portland.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Westbrook (C+) is closest.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | #102 | C | D | C | D | A |
| Westbrook | #78 | C+ | C− | B− | D | A− |
| Falmouth | #4 | A | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| South Portland | #52 | B | D | B | C+ | A− |
| Chebeague Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Island | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cape Elizabeth | #3 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
Chebeague Island and Long Island aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Portland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portland grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #102 of 142 in Maine. It grades A for health, C for safety and D for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
34 notable people were born here, including Stephen King and Anna Kendrick.
