Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sanford is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 104th among Maine's 142 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $73K. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 43 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $372K, 4 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. Sanford’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Maine town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Sanford Town Hall (Former) and Thomas Goodall House. Among 79 Maine towns, just 5 have a higher property crime rate than Sanford.
Where Sanford beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,799 in 1790, 21,982 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Sanford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sanford, 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 Sanford.
Sanford is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine; it also scores below Shapleigh and its other neighbors on health.
That puts Sanford above both Maine’s towns (4.7%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 67 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Hanson Farm, 211 acres with 3.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hanson Farm | 3.3 mi | 211 |
| 2. McKeon Environmental Reserve | 2.6 mi | 111 |
| 3. Hall Environmental Reserve | 1.3 mi | 114 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Alfred highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Sanford Public Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sanford High School, with 1,115 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 920 | C− |
| Sanford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,115 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
At 32 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 94% of Maine’s graded towns. Property crime runs at 23 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Maine rate, most of it theft.
Sanford reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less. The violent crime rate in Sanford is 1.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
About one in 5 of Sanford’s working residents works in town. Sanford’s average trip to work is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Portland (7%), North Berwick (5%) and Biddeford (5%).
| Sanford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.8% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sanford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Kennebunkport weather station, 15 miles away, records that 49 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 98% of Maine places with climate records. The Kennebunkport weather station, 15 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 96% of Maine places with climate records.
Sanford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Among 143 Maine towns, just 4 have a higher July high than Sanford.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from Shapleigh (B−) to North Berwick (B+).
Sanford beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Sanford adults report frequent mental distress.
| Sanford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 27% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Sanford | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13% | 10.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.9% | 7.4% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 11.7% | 9.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Sanford home is worth about $372,000, up 1.1% in a year, 10% below the Maine typical home.
| Sanford | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 71% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,152 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sanford. Close and well known come first.
31 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
31 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
32 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
20 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
14 mi MuseumSeashore Trolley Museum
24 mi MuseumStrawbery BankeLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Portland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seashore Trolley Museum: Rene Schwietzke from Jena, Germany, CC BY 2.0 · Strawbery Banke: Ken Gallager (Ken Gallager from en.wikipedia), Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sanford
About 4 of every 100 Sanford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
9,761 counted in 2010 and 21,982 in 2020; an estimated 22,663 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
9 places in Sanford on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Sanford.
City in Maine, United States
Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. Sanford is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. On November 6, 2012, Sanford voters approved a new charter to re-incorporate Sanford as a city and replace the town meeting format with a city council/mayor/strong manager form of government, along with other changes. The new charter took effect on January 1, 2013. Sanford's new charter provides that the first mayor would be appointed from the ranks of Sanford's seven city councilors and…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sanford.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Lebanon (B−) is closest.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford | #104 | C− | C+ | C | C+ | C+ |
| Alfred | #63 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| North Berwick | #38 | B+ | C+ | A | B− | B+ |
| Lebanon | #64 | B− | B | — | B− | B |
| Shapleigh | #53 | B | B− | — | B+ | B− |
Alfred, Lebanon and Shapleigh report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sanford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sanford grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #104 of 142 in Maine. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Safety 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+.
7 notable people were born here, including Michael Richard Cote and Rachel Schneider.
.jpg){kind=link}
