Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Vinalhaven’s subject grades are an A for health and the outdoors and an A+ for history; the weakest is a C for cost of living. 41% of working residents work locally in Vinalhaven, against 12% in Maine’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 7 of Maine’s 285 towns score higher on health. Only 8 of Maine’s 285 towns score higher on the outdoors. Its National Register listings include Heron Neck Light Station and Mount Desert Light Station. Vinalhaven has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Vinalhaven beats most towns.
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1870.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Vinalhaven is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vinalhaven. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year
36 mi MountainCadillac Mountain
38 mi LandmarkFort Knox
27 mi LighthouseBass Harbor Head Light
17 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
38 mi LighthousePemaquid Point LightAcadia 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 · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vinalhaven, 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 Vinalhaven.
Vinalhaven’s median age is 65.1 years, above both the Maine town median (44.9 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). 11% of Vinalhaven residents are under 18. Vinalhaven has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 1,254 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Vinalhaven | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 65.1 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 11% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 32% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.4 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 78% are men (ME 50%).
| Vinalhaven | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.5% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.5% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.5% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 26.3% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 24.1% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.4% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 3% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.7% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
Its public schools are run by RSU 08/MSAD 08. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinalhaven SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 143 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Vinalhaven beats the Maine average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of adults report frequent mental distress in Vinalhaven. Only 5 of the 144 Maine towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Vinalhaven.
| Vinalhaven | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Vinalhaven | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 10.7% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.9% | 14.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The July high in Vinalhaven is 75°F. Vinalhaven has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Vinalhaven’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Vinalhaven has added 70 jobs, to 300 in 2023. The top destinations are North Haven (19%), Rockland (4%) and Portland (3%).
| Vinalhaven | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 19% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Vinalhaven home is worth about $456,000, up 2.2% in a year, 11% above the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
35 miles of trail in 34 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is The Basin Preserve, 682 acres with 3.6 miles of trail.
| Vinalhaven | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Basin Preserve | 3.6 mi | 682 |
| 2. North Perry Creek Preserve | 3.6 mi | 338 |
| 3. A.W. Smith Preserve | 2.2 mi | 304 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vinalhaven.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Vinalhaven; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Vinalhaven residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Coastal flooding makes up 38% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
11 places in Vinalhaven on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maine, United States
Vinalhaven is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. Its town limits include the island of Vinalhaven, the largest of the Fox Islands, and smaller islands, some accessible from Vinalhaven Island by bridge or causeway. The population was 1,279 at the 2020 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and hosts a summer colony. Since there is no bridge to the island, Vinalhaven is primarily accessible from Rockland via an approximately 75-minute state ferry ride across West Penobscot Bay, or by air taxi from Knox County Regional Airport via Penobscot Island Air.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
