Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of South Bristol’s subject grades are an A+ for health and an A− for history; the weakest is a C for incomes. South Bristol has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Thompson Icehouse and Walpole Meetinghouse. South Bristol has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where South Bristol beats most towns.
| Widest gap | South Bristol | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.3% | 10.7% |
Thompson IcehouseCoastal flooding makes up 10% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far South Bristol is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 581 in 1920, 1,127 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1749 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Bristol, 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 South Bristol.
The midpoint rent for South Bristol comes to $1,347 a month, above both Maine’s towns ($1,106 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Home values are up 3.6% over the year to September 2026. Among households in the town, 78% own their home.
| South Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,347 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Public schools: the South Bristol Public Schools. Its one school is below. The town’s only public school teaches 63 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Bristol Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 63 | A |
NCES · EDFacts
The share of adults in South Bristol who report frequent physical distress: 11%. Among 144 Maine towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than South Bristol. Two figures for adults in the town: 7.7% smoke cigarettes, 26% have obesity. Against the Maine average, South Bristol comes out ahead on 18 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1.
| South Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | South Bristol | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.3% | 10.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.8% | 7.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.5% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median household income for South Bristol comes to $69,000, against $78,000 in Maine’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Just 16% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Its typical journey to work stands at 17 minutes. Also worth knowing: jobs based in South Bristol grew to 148 in 2023, 43 more than in 2013.
| South Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.6% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
32% of South Bristol’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 25%. Compared with 69% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among 144 Maine towns, just 8 have a lower peak summer temperature than South Bristol. July afternoons reach 75°, January nights drop to 15° and about 79 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest place to walk is Plummer Point Preserve, 88 acres with 1.6 miles of trail. In 12 parks and preserves, walkers have 13 miles of trail. For South Bristol, the density of trails is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| South Bristol | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plummer Point Preserve | 1.6 mi | 88 |
| 2. Tracy Shore | 1.1 mi | 32 |
| 3. Seal Cove Shore Preserve | 0.9 mi | 57 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Bristol. Close and well known come first.
37 mi LighthousePortland Head Light
4 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light
37 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
6 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens16 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestonesPortland Head Light: Aniarku, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of South Bristol; the nearest are
College town 15 of every 100 South Bristol residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in South Bristol on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, U.S.
South Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, South Bristol includes the villages of Walpole and Christmas Cove, the latter on Rutherford Island. The town has six nature preserves.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 10.7 years of the area's median household income ($76,875 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+.
