Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Skowhegan grades D overall, ranked 128th of 142 in Maine, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $49K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 13 places on the National Register. Skowhegan’s property crime rate is 37.1 per 1,000 residents, above both Maine’s towns (10) and U.S. towns (11.5). Its National Register listings include Gov. Abner Coburn House and Skowhegan Fire Station. Among 143 Maine towns, just 3 have a lower median household income than Skowhegan.
Where Skowhegan beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,006 in 1830, 8,620 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1798 and 3 maps from 1913 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Skowhegan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Skowhegan, 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 Skowhegan.
Skowhegan is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has home values climbing faster than Maine’s and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Maine.
54 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Coburn Woods, 395 acres with 5 miles of trail. The trail density in Skowhegan is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Skowhegan | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coburn Woods | 5 mi | 395 |
| 2. Wesserunsett Stream Preserve | 1.5 mi | 54 |
| 3. Canaan Bog Preserve | 0.8 mi | 169 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by RSU 54/MSAD 54. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Skowhegan Area High School, with 686 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skowhegan Area Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 473 | C+ |
| Skowhegan Area High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 686 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 50% in five years, to about $220K, against 27% across Maine.
The typical Skowhegan home is worth about $220,000, down 1.4% in a year, 47% below the Maine typical home. Skowhegan’s median rent is $875 a month.
| Skowhegan | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $875 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 5,601 U.S. towns with household incomes like Skowhegan’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Skowhegan. Skowhegan beats the Maine average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 20% of adults smoke cigarettes in Skowhegan.
| Skowhegan | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Skowhegan | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.6% | 7.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14.9% | 10.7% |
| More smokers | 19.5% | 14.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 79.5°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 81% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 8.4°.
Skowhegan has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 74 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Skowhegan | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 8°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Skowhegan’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Waterville (8%), Augusta (6%) and Bangor (3%). Half commute less than 16 miles.
| Skowhegan | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Skowhegan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Skowhegan's reported crime rate is well above Maine's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 12 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Skowhegan. Close and well known come first.
37 mi Ski areaSugarloaf137 runs · 2,769 ft vertical
14 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
32 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
7 mi MuseumL. C. Bates Museum
32 mi GardenViles Arboretum
15 mi MuseumRedington MuseumSugarloaf: Bubblecuffer, Public domain · Colby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · L. C. Bates Museum: W.A. Judge, Public domain · Viles Arboretum: eddie welker from Laurel, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Redington Museum: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Skowhegan
About 4 of every 100 Skowhegan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
13 places in Skowhegan on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Skowhegan.
Town in Maine, United States
Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously held state fair in the United States. Skowhegan was originally inhabited by the indigenous Abenaki people who named the area Skowhegan, meaning "watching place [for fish]," and were mostly dispersed by the end of the 4th Anglo-Abenaki War.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Skowhegan.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skowhegan | #128 | D | C+ | — | C | C− |
| Canaan | — | — | B+ | — | C | C |
| Norridgewock | #142 | D− | B− | — | C | D |
| Cornville | — | — | C | — | C | C− |
| Madison | #110 | C− | B− | — | C+ | D |
| Fairfield | #121 | C− | C+ | B− | C | C− |
Canaan and Cornville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Skowhegan, Canaan, Norridgewock, Cornville and Madison report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Skowhegan with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Skowhegan grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #128 of 142 in Maine. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($58,179 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
13 notable people were born here, including Margaret Chase Smith and Abner Coburn.
