Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waldoboro is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, ranked 54th of 142 in Maine, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 74% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 73% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 71% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $336K, 4.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income. Of the 133 Maine towns we compare, none has a lower median rent than Waldoboro. Its National Register listings include German Church and Cemetery and Waldo Theatre. Only 5 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower July high than Waldoboro.
Where Waldoboro beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,717 in 1790, a low of 1,511 in 1800, 5,154 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 2 maps from 1913 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Waldoboro is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waldoboro, 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 Waldoboro.
Waldoboro gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s.
Most working residents leave Waldoboro for work: only 14% work in town. Jobs based in Waldoboro grew to 1,088 in 2023, 87 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Rockland (9%), Damariscotta (6%) and Warren (6%).
| Waldoboro | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by RSU 40/MSAD 40. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Medomak Valley High School, with 561 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miller SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 361 | D |
| Medomak Valley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 561 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
At 10.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 57% of Maine’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,461 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waldoboro’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Waldoboro, against 33% in Maine’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 28% of Waldoboro adults have been diagnosed with depression. Waldoboro beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Waldoboro | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Waldoboro | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 6.4% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Newcastle weather station, 9 miles away, records that 79 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Newcastle weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Waldoboro has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Waldoboro’s January low is 14°F, above the Maine town median (10°F) but below the median of U.S. towns (22°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Waldoboro home is worth about $336,000, down 0.9% in a year, 18% below the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
15 miles of trail in 25 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Riverbrook Preserve, 417 acres with 3.2 miles of trail. The trail density in Waldoboro is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Waldoboro | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverbrook Preserve | 3.2 mi | 417 |
| 2. Burkett Mill Preserve | 2.3 mi | 338 |
| 3. Geele Farm Preserve | 1.4 mi | 74 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maine average. Waldoboro’s median age is 50.1 years. Waldoboro has grown 3.4% since 2020, to 5,324 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Waldoboro | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.1 years | 44.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 21% | 18% |
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Waldoboro | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.6% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.7% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.9% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.3% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.7% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.6% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.4% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.6% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.8% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.4% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waldoboro. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi National ParkAcadia National Park4.1M visitors a year33 mi Ancient sitePopham Colony
21 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light
14 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
22 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
12 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National MonumentAcadia National Park: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: CMBG editor, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Frances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain
None within 15 miles of Waldoboro; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Waldoboro residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Where Waldoboro’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Waldoboro on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Waldoboro.
Town in Maine, United States
Waldoboro is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak River. The town's strong agricultural and fishing legacy continues today, with recently renewed enthusiasm for traditional natural fiber production, cheesemaking, farm brewing, fermentation, soapmaking, and other lost agrarian arts. Waldoboro is becoming a popular destination, with miles of scenic river frontage, a thriving arts community, and historical interest in its past as a German settlement.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Waldoboro.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waldoboro | #54 | B | B | B+ | C | B+ |
| Friendship | — | — | B− | — | C | B+ |
| Nobleboro | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Bremen | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Warren | #81 | C+ | C+ | — | C | B |
| Jefferson | #65 | B− | B | — | B | B− |
| Damariscotta | — | — | C− | — | A− | B |
| Union | — | — | C+ | — | C | B |
Friendship, Nobleboro, Damariscotta and Union have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Friendship, Nobleboro, Warren, Jefferson, Damariscotta and Union report no FBI crime data of their own. Bremen isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Waldoboro with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Waldoboro grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #54 of 142 in Maine. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
4 notable people were born here, including Conrad Heyer and Isaac Reed.
