Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Swans Island’s typical journey to work is 12 minutes, where Maine’s towns sit at 25 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Of the 144 Maine towns we compare, none has a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Swans Island. The biggest park or preserve is Swans Island Lobster Conservation Area, at 21,482 acres. Swans Island has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Swans Island beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 17% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Census counts: 51 in 1810, a peak of 765 in 1880, 355 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 3 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Swans Island. Close and well known come first.
Big draw2 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
19 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
35 mi LandmarkFort Knox
8 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light
33 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
21 mi MuseumAbbe MuseumAcadia 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 · Abbe Museum: AbbeMuseum, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Swans Island, 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 Swans Island.
The top destinations are Tremont (21%), Southwest Harbor (19%) and Bar Harbor (15%). Most people who work leave Swans Island to do it: just 4% work in town. In Swans Island, 8.8% of workers work from home. Half of commuters travel less than 14 miles.
| Swans Island | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.8% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swans Island Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 29 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts
In Swans Island, the July high is 76°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in Swans Island since 1982. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 42% come from hurricanes and 19% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (20% statewide); people 65 and older are 28% of residents (22% statewide). For Swans Island, the midpoint age is 52.8 years. Maine has 36% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 38%.
| Swans Island | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.8 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 32% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.1 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Swans Island | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 2.3% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.2% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.3% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.2% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.3% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.4% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.4% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.2% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.9% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.4% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.5% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.7% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.8% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 400, single groups can be off by several points
29% of adults in Swans Island have obesity; 83% had a checkup this year. CDC measures, 32 in all: Swans Island beats Maine on 2 and trails on 1. Among adults locally, 20% get no exercise outside work.
| Swans Island | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Swans Island | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 67.2% | 63.8% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 89.4% | 87.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Swans Island Lobster Conservation Area | — | 21,482 |
| 2. Eastern Maine Habitat Management Area | — | 557 |
| 3. Back Cove Preserve | — | 98 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Swans Island; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Swans Island 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
Swan's Island is an island town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is named after Colonel James Swan, of Fife, Scotland, who purchased the island and some surrounding areas and organized their colonization in the eighteenth century. The population was 355 at the 2020 census. The town is accessible by state ferry service from Bass Harbor. The island has a summertime population of approximately 1,000. There is a general store on the island, which opened in spring 2007, and at least one inn. There are also a number of small cottage-industry shops. The main industry is lobster fishing, which employs 40 people full-time and many others in part-time work. Swan's Island is also home to th…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Swans Island has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
