Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,985, settled in 1851.
Van Buren’s best subject grade is an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 33% of working residents work locally in Van Buren, above both Maine’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (8%). On incomes, just 2 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Van Buren has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Acadian Historic Buildings and Fortunat O. Michaud House. Van Buren has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Van Buren beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Van Buren | ME |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.7% | 14.8% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Van Buren is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,050 in 1850, a peak of 5,380 in 1940, 2,038 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 4 maps from 1934 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Van Buren, 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 Van Buren.
The typical Van Buren home is worth about $117,000, down 4.9% in a year, 72% below the Maine typical home. Van Buren’s median rent is $733 a month, below both the Maine town median ($1,106 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 64% of Van Buren households own their home.
| Van Buren | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $733 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by RSU 88/MSAD 24. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 204 | C− |
| Van Buren District Secondary SchLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 58 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
18% of adults have diabetes in Van Buren. No town among the 144 in Maine we compare has a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Van Buren. 42% of adults have obesity in Van Buren.
| Van Buren | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 23% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Van Buren | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 15.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.7% | 76.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.7% | 14.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median household income in Van Buren is $40,000. Among 144 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than Van Buren. The average trip to work in Van Buren is 15 minutes.
| Van Buren | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Van Buren since 1984.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Van Buren has cold, snowy winters and cool summers. Van Buren’s July high is 76°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Van Buren | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Van Buren Public Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Champlain Street Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Van Buren; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Van Buren residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Town in Maine, United States
Van Buren is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, located along the Saint John River across from Saint-Léonard, New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 2,038 at the 2020 United States census. The town is named after Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Van Buren.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren | — | — | A− | — | C− | D− |
| Grand Isle | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hamlin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cyr plantation | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Van Buren has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Van Buren reports no FBI crime data of its own. Grand Isle, Hamlin and Cyr plantation aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Van Buren with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.