Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,730.
Readfield grades A− overall, ranked 29th of 142 in Maine, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its public schools beat 79% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $346K for a typical one and 5 times the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. Only 1 of Maine’s 285 towns score higher on hazard risk. 49% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Readfield, above both Maine’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (29%). Readfield has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Readfield Union Meeting House and Kent's Hill School Historic District.
Where Readfield beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Readfield Elementary School | PK–5 | 183 |
| Maranacook Community Middle Sch | 6–8 | 290 |
| Maranacook Community High Sch | 9–12 | 385 |
Where Readfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Readfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 938 in 1800, a low of 881 in 1930, 2,597 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1824 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Readfield, 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 Readfield.
Readfield pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Maine norm, has less tooth loss than most of Maine and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
The FEMA risk score in Readfield is 13 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by RSU 38. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Maranacook Community High Sch, with 385 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maranacook Community Middle SchLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 290 | B+ |
| Maranacook Community High SchLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 385 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maine is tooth loss: 9.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.8% statewide.
13% of Readfield adults binge drink. Readfield beats the Maine average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of Readfield adults smoke cigarettes.
| Readfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Readfield | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.4% | 14.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.8% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Carleton Pond Water Supply Land, at 792 acres.
| Readfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rosmarin and Saunders Family Forest | 3.8 mi | 362 |
| 2. Torsey Pond Nature Preserve | 1.6 mi | 55 |
| 3. Readfield Town Forest | 1.3 mi | 74 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 397 in 2013 to 656.
Most working residents leave Readfield for work: only 11% work in town. Readfield’s average trip to work is 30 minutes. Since 2013, Readfield has added 259 jobs, to 656 in 2023.
| Readfield | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Gardiner weather station, 13 miles away, records that 69 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 81% of Maine places with climate records.
Readfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79° and January nights drop to 10°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Readfield grades A− overall with a typical home of about $346K, below the Maine typical value; only 6 of the 33 Maine towns graded A− or better can say that.
90% of households own their home in Readfield. The typical Readfield home is worth about $346,000, up 0.5% in a year, 16% below the Maine typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Readfield. Close and well known come first.
10 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
37 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
32 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National Monument
34 mi MuseumMaine Maritime Museum
19 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
32 mi MuseumBowdoin College Museum of ArtMaine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain · Maine Maritime Museum: Maine Maritime Museum, CC BY 3.0 · Colby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bowdoin College Museum of Art: Charles Follen McKim. Uploaded 28 September 2005 to en:Wikipedia by Hugh Manate, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Readfield
About 3 of every 100 Readfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
3 places in Readfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Readfield.
Town in Maine, United States
Readfield ( REED-field) is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2020 census. Readfield is home to the Kents Hill School, a preparatory school, Maranacook Community Schools, public schools for the district, a few summer camps, and the annual Readfield Heritage Days. A popular recreation spot in central Maine, the town contains nine lakes and ponds, including Maranacook Lake, and is part of the Winthrop Lakes Region. The town of Readfield was previously named Pond Town. Readfield is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Readfield.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readfield | #29 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Fayette | — | — | C+ | — | C− | B |
| Mount Vernon | — | — | B− | — | A− | B |
| Manchester | — | — | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Wayne | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Winthrop | #48 | B | C+ | B+ | B+ | B |
| Belgrade | #45 | B+ | B− | — | B+ | A− |
Fayette, Mount Vernon, Manchester and Wayne have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Readfield, Fayette, Mount Vernon, Manchester, Wayne and Belgrade report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Readfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Readfield grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #29 of 142 in Maine. It grades A− for health and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
Readfield has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 4 notable people were born here, including John Hubbard and Abner O. Shaw.
