Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scarborough grades A overall, ranked 12th of 142 in Maine. The median household earns $134K. It is healthier than 94% of U.S. towns and its public schools beat 88% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $689K for a typical one and 7.5 times the Portland metro’s $92K median household income. 58% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Scarborough, above both the Maine town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). The biggest place to walk is Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area, 2,727 acres with 2.1 miles of trail. Among 133 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher median rent than Scarborough.
Where Scarborough beats most towns.
Winslow Homer Studio| Widest gap | Scarborough | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.7% | 14.8% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Wentworth School | 3–5 | 664 |
| Eight Corners Elementary School | K–2 | 241 |
| Blue Point School | PK–2 | 214 |
Winslow Homer Studio is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,099 in 1800, 22,135 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1702 and 5 maps from 1891 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Scarborough is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Scarborough. Close and well known come first.
7 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
9 mi LandmarkFort Gorges30 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
7 mi MuseumPortland Museum of Art
8 mi MuseumMaine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
6 mi Theme parkFuntown Splashtown USAPortland 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 · Funtown Splashtown USA: Paulec252, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Scarborough, 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 Scarborough.
Scarborough draws workers from Portland and beyond and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maine.
At 7.5 years of the Portland metro’s $92K median household income, the typical home (about $689K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $5,978, against $3,036 across Maine, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Scarborough home is worth about $689,000, down 0.6% in a year, 67% above the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $689K.
Its public schools are run by the Scarborough Public Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Scarborough High School, with 903 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wentworth SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 664 | A |
| Scarborough High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 903 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maine is tooth loss: 8.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.8% statewide.
25% of adults have obesity in Scarborough. Only 8 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Scarborough. 8.9% of adults have diabetes in Scarborough.
| Scarborough | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Scarborough | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.7% | 14.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.4% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16,960 jobs are based in Scarborough, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 24.6% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Maine.
4.4% of Scarborough residents live below the poverty line. Among 143 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher median household income than Scarborough. 25% of Scarborough workers work from home.
| Scarborough | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $134,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fuller Farm Preserve | 3.7 mi | 227 |
| 2. Pleasant Hill Preserve | 2.3 mi | 159 |
| 3. Broadturn Farm | 2.2 mi | 421 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 320 to 211 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Maine has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Scarborough sits closer to the middle.
| Scarborough | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 95 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Scarborough.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
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.
Scarborough has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Scarborough’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4 within 15 miles of the center of Scarborough
About 5 of every 100 Scarborough residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maine.
Coastal flooding makes up 16% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
7 places in Scarborough on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Scarborough.
Town in Maine, United States
Scarborough is a town in Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. Located about 7 miles (11 km) south of Portland, Scarborough is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 22,135 at the 2020 census, making it the 6th most populous municipality in Maine, as well as the largest in the state to be referred to as "Town".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Scarborough.
Old Orchard Beach next door grades lower for schools (C to Scarborough’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | #12 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Cape Elizabeth | #3 | A+ | D | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Gorham | #2 | A+ | C− | A | A | A |
| Saco | #22 | A− | C | B | A− | A− |
| Old Orchard Beach | #89 | C | C | B | C | B |
| Westbrook | #78 | C+ | C− | B− | D | A− |
| South Portland | #52 | B | D | B | C+ | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scarborough grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #12 of 142 in Maine. It grades A for health, B+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Maine has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Scarborough sits nearer the middle.
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.
10 notable people were born here, including Rufus King and William King.
