Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,058, settled in 1897. 3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Maine town.
The best of Stonington’s subject grades is an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a D for incomes. 39% of residents are 65 or older in Stonington, where Maine’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 18%. Among 144 Maine towns, just 5 have a lower share of children under 18 than Stonington. Stonington's public schools trail 78% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. On civic life, just 16 of Maine’s 285 towns do better. Stonington Opera House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Stonington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Stonington beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 25% 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 Stonington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,648 in 1900, a peak of 2,038 in 1910, 1,056 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stonington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
25 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
30 mi LandmarkFort Knox
16 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light
23 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum25 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft verticalAcadia National Park: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cadillac Mountain: The original uploader was NightThree at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0 · Fort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Bass Harbor Head Light: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stonington, 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 Stonington.
At 58.2 years, Stonington’s median age is above both Maine’s towns (44.9 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine.
| Stonington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 58.2 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 32% | 29% |
56% women, 44% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.7 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Stonington | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.4% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.7% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.4% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.5% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.8% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.6% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.5% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.5% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stonington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Stonington has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Stonington’s July high is 76°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Stonington home is worth about $490,000, up 6.5% in a year, 19% above the Maine typical home. The median rent in Stonington is $823 a month.
| Stonington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $823 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in 4 of Stonington’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Deer Isle (27%), Blue Hill (7%) and Portland (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Stonington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Stonington beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Stonington.
| Stonington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Stonington | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.3% | 76.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.7% | 14.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7.2 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is McGlathery Island, at 152 acres.
| Stonington | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Settlement Quarry Preserve | 1.5 mi | 51 |
| 2. Wreck Island | 1.3 mi | 77 |
| 3. Crockett Cove Woods Preserve | 1.2 mi | 84 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Stonington; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Stonington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Town in Maine, United States
Stonington is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southern portion of the island of Deer Isle. The population was 1,056 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Burnt Cove, Oceanville, Green Head, and Clam City. A picturesque working waterfront and tranquil tourist destination in eastern Penobscot Bay, Stonington has consistently ranked among the top lobster ports in the country and is the largest lobster port in Maine. In 2011, 14,854,989 pounds of lobster were landed by Stonington fishermen, with a value of $46.3 million.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Maine town.
Not for the area. That is 6.7 years of the area's median household income ($72,744 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 B+.
