Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sidney is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 95th among Maine's 142 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 67% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $420K for a typical one and 6.1 times the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 19 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Sidney has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Powers House and Tiffany Chapel.
Where Sidney beats most towns.
4,208 counted in 2010 and 4,645 in 2020; an estimated 4,929 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6.2% since 2020, after 10.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Sidney is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,011 in 1800, a low of 918 in 1950, 4,645 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1770 and 4 maps from 1893 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sidney, 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 Sidney.
Sidney sends most of its workers to Augusta 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.
Sidney sits against 4.8% in Maine’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns on this measure. 30 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ward Pond Woods, at 54 acres.
| Sidney | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reynolds Forest | 0.5 mi | 35 |
| 2. Ward Pond Woods | — | 54 |
| 3. Sidney Recreation Fields | — | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by RSU 18. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James H Bean SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 300 | A |
| Nfi Sidney River Bend School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 8 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Sidney has 466 jobs for its 2,298 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Sidney for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Sidney has added 190 jobs, to 466 in 2023. 6.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Sidney, where Maine’s towns sit at 9% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
| Sidney | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5.4% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 78% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sidney beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 13% of Sidney adults binge drink.
| Sidney | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sidney | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.6% | 15.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 13.5% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Gardiner weather station, 15 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. The Gardiner weather station, 15 miles away, records that about 5 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 84% of Maine places with climate records.
Sidney has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Sidney’s July high is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 23% of residents (18% statewide). Sidney has grown 6.2% since 2020, to 4,929 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Sidney | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 23% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 43 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 22% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 32% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Sidney | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.2% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.2% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.8% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.6% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.9% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,900, single groups can be off by several points
At 6.1 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income, the typical home (about $420K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Maine towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
89% of households own their home in Sidney. The typical Sidney home is worth about $420,000, up 1.1% in a year, close to the Maine typical home. The median rent in Sidney is $1,340 a month.
| Sidney | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,340 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sidney. Close and well known come first.
9 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
39 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
10 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
39 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
32 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National Monument
38 mi MuseumMaine Maritime MuseumMaine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0 · Frances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain · Maine Maritime Museum: Maine Maritime Museum, CC BY 3.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Sidney
About 2 of every 100 Sidney residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Sidney’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Sidney on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Sidney.
Town in Maine, United States
Sidney is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,645 at the 2020 census. Sidney was incorporated as a town on January 30, 1792. The town was named for Sir Philip Sidney, an English author. Sidney is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area. Since 1937, the town has been the home of the New England Music Camp.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sidney.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney | #95 | C | C | — | B+ | C |
| Vassalboro | #135 | D | B− | — | D | B |
| Belgrade | #45 | B+ | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Augusta | #140 | D− | C+ | D | D | C |
| Oakland | #33 | B+ | B | A− | B+ | B− |
Sidney, Vassalboro and Belgrade report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sidney with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sidney grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #95 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
3 notable people were born here, including Nehemiah Abbott and William M. Butterfield.
