Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Gardiner is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, ranked 71st of 142 in Maine, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $96K. A typical home there costs about $393K, 5.7 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. On the outdoors, just 4 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Wakefield Wildlife Santuary, at 109 acres. On history, just 22 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse.
Where West Gardiner beats most towns.
Where West Gardiner’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maine), ordered by how far West Gardiner is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,294 in 1860, a low of 553 in 1920, 3,671 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Gardiner, 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 West Gardiner.
West Gardiner sends most of its workers to Augusta and beyond and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Maine; it also trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
West Gardiner has 495 jobs for its 1,703 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave West Gardiner for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, West Gardiner has added 244 jobs, to 495 in 2023. The top destinations are Augusta (25%), Gardiner (9%) and Bath (4%).
| West Gardiner | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $96,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.6% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by RSU 11/MSAD 11. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Thompson SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 245 | C |
| Grace Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–11 | Grades K–11 | 24 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 2005, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Gardiner.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Gardiner weather station records that 69 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 81% of Maine places with climate records. The Gardiner weather station records that about 5 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 79% of Maine places with climate records.
West Gardiner has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. West Gardiner’s July high is 80°F, against 79°F in Maine’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Maine. 19% of West Gardiner residents are under 18, close to Maine’s towns (18%) and below U.S. towns (22%).
| West Gardiner | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 22% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 43.5 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 32% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Maine, 50.7% of residents are women.
| West Gardiner | ME | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.3% | 9.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 8.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15% | 8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.5% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.8% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 15.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.2% | 13.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4% | 8.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.8% | 5.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.6% | 30.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 18.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 13.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,700, single groups can be off by several points
5.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in West Gardiner is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| West Gardiner | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wakefield Wildlife Santuary | — | 109 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,150 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Gardiner’s, it is less healthy than 75%, so it trails even them.
West Gardiner beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 13% of West Gardiner adults binge drink.
| West Gardiner | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | West Gardiner | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 9% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
89% of households own their home in West Gardiner. The typical West Gardiner home is worth about $393,000, up 2.7% in a year, close to the Maine typical home.
| West Gardiner | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,087 a month | $1,108 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Gardiner. Close and well known come first.
7 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
33 mi LighthousePemaquid Point Light33 mi LandmarkSpirit Pond runestones
26 mi GardenCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens
22 mi National MonumentFrances Perkins National MonumentMaine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pemaquid Point Light: WestportWiki, CC BY-SA 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Gardiner
About 8 of every 100 West Gardiner residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
Town in Maine, United States
West Gardiner is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,671 at the 2020 census. West Gardiner is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with West Gardiner.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Gardiner | #71 | B− | C+ | — | B− | B− |
| Litchfield | #91 | C | B− | — | C− | B− |
| Gardiner | #82 | C+ | C+ | B | B− | C+ |
| Farmingdale | #93 | C | B− | — | B | C+ |
| Manchester | — | — | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Monmouth | #46 | B | C− | A+ | B | B+ |
| Winthrop | #48 | B | C+ | B+ | B+ | B |
Manchester has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. West Gardiner, Litchfield, Farmingdale and Manchester report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare West Gardiner with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Gardiner grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #71 of 142 in Maine. It grades B− for health and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including John Frank Stevens and William H. Stevens.
