Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of West Paris’ subject grades is an A− for history; the weakest is a D for incomes. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in West Paris, against 9% in Maine’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 5 of Maine’s 285 towns do worse. West Paris's public schools trail 87% of Maine towns on state tests and graduation. Its National Register listings include Stearns Hill Farm. West Paris has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where West Paris beats most towns.
Where West Paris’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 Paris is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,050 in 1960, 1,766 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 3 maps from 1911 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Paris, 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 Paris.
Its public schools are run by RSU 17/MSAD 17. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes Gray SchoolLargest public school before high schoolGrades PK | Grades PK | 27 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
West Paris beats the Maine average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 18% of West Paris adults report frequent physical distress, above both the Maine town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 20% of West Paris adults smoke cigarettes.
| West Paris | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | West Paris | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.1% | 14.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.3% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical West Paris home is worth about $267,000, up 3.6% in a year, 35% below the Maine typical home. The median rent in West Paris is $838 a month.
| West Paris | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $838 a month | $1,106 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 81% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave West Paris for work: only 7% work in town. West Paris’ average trip to work is 32 minutes. Since 2013, West Paris has lost 40 jobs, to 228 in 2023.
| West Paris | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.6% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
West Paris has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 8° and about 76 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 144 Maine towns, just 3 have a higher FEMA risk score than West Paris.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Only 5 of the 144 Maine towns we compare have a lower trail density than West Paris.
| West Paris | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Paris Ballfields | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Paris. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi MountainMount Washington
35 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad20 mi Ski areaSunday River146 runs · 2,322 ft vertical
36 mi Theme parkStory Land39 mi Ski areaAttitash Mountain Resort85 runs · 1,662 ft vertical
34 mi Ski areaCranmore Mountain Resort60 runs · 1,127 ft verticalMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Story Land: AnotherMaker, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cranmore Mountain Resort: Davidafranklin, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of West Paris; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 West Paris residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
3 places in West Paris on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Oxford County, Maine, United States
West Paris is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. West Paris is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. Originally settled in 1771 for land that what was deemed "superior for pasturage, hay crops, and orchards", West Paris became a center of Finnish immigrant settlement in the 19th century, with many if the town's current residents being descendants of the original Finnish settlers (Finnish: suomalaiset, IPA: [ˈsuo̯mɑlɑi̯set]). Once part of the neighboring town of Paris, Maine, West Paris seceded from Paris and was incorporated in September 1957. The population was 1,766 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with West Paris.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Paris | — | — | C+ | — | D | C− |
| Woodstock | — | — | B− | — | C | B− |
| Paris | #122 | D | C− | B | D | C |
| Sumner | — | — | A− | — | D | C+ |
| Greenwood | — | — | — | — | — | — |
West Paris, Woodstock and Sumner have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. West Paris, Woodstock and Sumner report no FBI crime data of their own. Greenwood isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Paris with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($60,173 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
