Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety77#3,565/15,637
Economy35#10,103/15,631
Housing24#11,425/14,977
Health54#7,226/15,609
Healthcare55#7,045/15,650
Environment85#2,269/15,453
Education82#2,813/15,649
Infrastructure69#4,916/15,650
Community80#3,099/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,587/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Boothbay Harbor, Maine ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lincoln County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Maine 3.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
High school diploma or higher · high89.1%
98/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Voter turnout · high81.5%
98/100Maine 75.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionLincoln County value
Students per teacher · low10.4×
97/100Maine 11.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLincoln County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³
97/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLincoln County value
Average commute time · low11.3 min
96/100Maine 24.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.7%
4/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Access to exercise opportunities · low40.8%
6/100Maine 66.5%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Dentists · low30 /100k
11/100Maine 72 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Drought exposure · high81%
11/100Maine 75%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAALincoln County value
Comfortable days · low23.4%
12/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLincoln County value
Poverty rate · high25.5%
12/100Maine 10.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,152 (2015-2019) → 1,047 (2020-2024)
−9.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.7% (2015-2019) → 78.4% (2020-2024)
+40 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.7% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
12.6% (2015-2019) → 25.6% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.6× (2015-2019) → 6.6× (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
21.7% (2015-2019) → 30.0% (2020-2024)
+8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Boothbay Harbor, Maine improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+15 points76.7% → 91.9%

Declined2

Rent burden+40 points38.7% → 78.4%
Poverty+13 points12.6% → 25.6%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Boothbay Harbor, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.2 min2015-2019	11.3 min2020-2024	−6.9 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.3%2015-2019	42.8%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Broadband subscriptions	76.7%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	80%
Effective property tax rate	0.85%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	30%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	−6.7 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	6.6×2020-2024	+2.0×	Within the margin of error	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4142015-2019	0.4962020-2024	+0.082	Within the margin of error	7%
Median household income	$48,8192015-2019	$49,8612020-2024	+2.1%	Within the margin of error	9%
Poverty rate	12.6%2015-2019	25.6%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	2%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent-burdened households	38.7%2015-2019	78.4%2020-2024	+40 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	21.2%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	87%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Boothbay Harbor, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Boothbay Harbor, Maine in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Boothbay Harbor, Maine itself moved −19.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,047 residents (±185)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 70–79 women (+7.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,047 residents (±185)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

White87%916
Black1.5%†16
Hispanic or Latino1.8%†19

Education

877 residents (±156)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

No high school diploma11%†96
High school or GED31%†268
Some college11%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

594 households (±99)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k36%†216
$25k–50k14%†83
$50k–75k7.4%†44
$75k–100k16%†96
$100k–150k15%†92
$150k–200k6.9%†41
$200k or more3.7%†22

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−14.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

594 households (±99)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Own74%438
Rent26%†156

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

144 households (±54)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Under $75058%†84
$750–1,0009.0%†13
$1,000–1,50020%†29

Home values

438 homes (±89)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Under $150k15%†65
$150k–250k25%†111
$250k–400k19%†82

Age of homes

947 homes (±134)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

2010 or later3.5%†33
2000–20097.3%†69
1980–199919%†182

Size of homes

947 homes (±134)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Studio4.6%†44
1 bedroom17%†158
2 bedrooms24%†229

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

393 workers (±108)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone61%†241
Carpool9.7%†38
Public transit0.0%0
Walk7.6%†30
Bike0.0%0
Work from home21%†84
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+16.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

309 workers (±105)

Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Maine share

Under 15 min69%†212
15–29 min19%†58
30–44 min13%†39

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lincoln County, the county holding most of Boothbay Harbor's residents.

Lincoln County has 1,383 employer establishments, 380 for every 10,000 residents (1.53× the US rate of 248; 1.23× Maine's), with 9,608 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,677. The Census Bureau also counts 4,802 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,383; 4,802 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 380; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 9,608
Average annual pay: $45,677; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lincoln County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	135	37.1	2.39×More than typical	417	$55,818	534
Restaurants and other eating places	105	28.8	1.57×More than typical	680	$46,543	18
Construction of buildings	90	24.7	3.27×More than typical	268	$55,082	310
Building equipment contractors	68	18.7	3.10×More than typical	227	$58,410	51
Lessors of real estate	56	15.4	1.25×About typical	85	$46,106	439
Services to buildings and dwellings	56	15.4	2.28×More than typical	199	$48,271	390
Full-service restaurants	53	14.6	1.89×More than typical	438	$52,986	12
Ambulatory health care services	50	13.7	0.66×Fewer than typical	436	$81,369	187
Landscaping services	42	11.5	3.29×More than typical	169	$49,562	152
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	37	10.2	3.08×More than typical	144	$64,222	24
Traveler accommodation	37	10.2	5.63×More than typical	102	$146,824	34
Limited-service restaurants	31	8.5	1.06×About typical	191	$36,141	4

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 36,418 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $481 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Boothbay Harbor, Maine: $0.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $481; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$481100%

Top recipients

CSE INSTALLATIONS, INC$1,835100%
FULLER MARINE SERVICES, INC-$1,3540.0%

Spending by fiscal year

57.7KFY2017
49.7KFY2018
20.8KFY2019
47.5KFY2020
160.4KFY2022
28.8KFY2023
5.2KFY2024
237.1KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$1,835100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, so they do not add up across cities.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine's figures are part of those of Lincoln County, ME ($342.3K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Boothbay Harbor is mostly in Lincoln County.

See federal money in Lincoln County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Chellie PingreeD-ME-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 4.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lincoln County92100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lincoln County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2306085

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends