Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterville grades D overall, 137th among Maine's 142 graded towns, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its schools rank behind 85% of the state's. The median household income is $54K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 16 places on the National Register. 32% of working residents work locally in Waterville, above both Maine’s towns (12%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 4 of Maine’s 92 towns score lower on safety. Its National Register listings include Alvin O. Lombard House and Waterville Opera House and City Hall.
Where Waterville beats most towns.
Two Cent Bridge
Census counts: 1,314 in 1810, 15,828 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far Waterville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterville, 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 Waterville.
Waterville draws workers from Winslow and beyond, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is safe by national standards but not by Maine’s.
17 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The trail density in Waterville is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oxbow Nature Preserve | 0.6 mi | 17 |
| 2. North Street Recreation Area | 0.4 mi | 15 |
| 3. Head of Falls Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Waterville Public Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Waterville Senior High School, with 529 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| George J Mitchell SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 532 | D |
| Waterville Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 529 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
11,787 jobs are based in Waterville, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18 minutes, against 24.6 across Maine.
About one in 3 of Waterville’s working residents works in town. Waterville’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. Only 7 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower median household income than Waterville.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 35.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 95% of Maine’s graded towns. Property crime runs at 25.7 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Maine rate, most of it theft.
Among 79 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher property crime rate than Waterville.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $250K, against 27% across Maine.
49% of households own their home in Waterville. The typical Waterville home is worth about $250,000, up 1.9% in a year, 39% below the Maine typical home.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $978 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
20.6% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.7% across Maine, which weighs on its C− for jobs and income. Only 48.8% of households own their home, against 74.3% across Maine.
14% of Waterville residents are under 18. Only 2 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower median age than Waterville. Waterville has grown 5.4% since 2020, to 17,579 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.5 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 22% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Waterville | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.6% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.7% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 23.3% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.3% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.5% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.3% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 6,984 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waterville’s, it is healthier than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Waterville beats the Maine average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. Among 143 Maine towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Waterville.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 27% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Waterville | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.8% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.4% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Albion weather station, 11 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 79.6°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 82% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9.3°.
Waterville has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Waterville | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 9°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterville. Close and well known come first.
in town MuseumColby College Museum of Art
18 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
38 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National Monument
in town MuseumRedington Museum
8 mi MuseumL. C. Bates Museum35 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft verticalColby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Frances Perkins National Monument: Robert Reed, NPS employee (per the same source), Public domain · Redington Museum: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0 · L. C. Bates Museum: W.A. Judge, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Waterville
College town 18 of every 100 Waterville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
2 colleges in town.
16 places in Waterville on the National Register of Historic Places.
47 notable people were born in Waterville.
City in Maine, United States
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. A college town, the city is home to Colby College, a NESCAC college, and Thomas College. Colby College and Waterville also serve as the host of the prestigious Summer Science Program. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is one of the principal cities of the Augusta-Waterville, ME Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Waterville.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterville | #137 | D | C+ | C− | C− | C |
| Winslow | #88 | C | C | B+ | C+ | C |
| Oakland | #33 | B+ | B | A− | B+ | B− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waterville grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #137 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Schools 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 C+.
47 notable people were born here, including George J. Mitchell and Marston Morse.
