City · York County, Maine

Sanford, Maine

Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, part of the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area. It has 22,247 residents. Sanford, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,353 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #43 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and mental health care shortage (low). It ranks worst on drought exposure (high), depression (high) and distance to an emergency room (high).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,353 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #43 of 104 in ME
Population: 22,247 (2020-2024)
Land area: 48 mi²
Density: 465.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2365725

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety86#2,143/15,637
Economy51#7,589/15,631
Housing60#5,931/14,977
Health43#8,937/15,609
Healthcare67#5,094/15,650
Environment75#3,837/15,453
Education85#2,331/15,649
Infrastructure45#8,557/15,650
Community71#4,475/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,275/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sanford, Maine ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “York 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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.4 µg/m³
94/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyYork County value
High school diploma or higher · high91.3%
94/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Maine 5.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationYork County value
Students per teacher · low11.4×
90/100Maine 11.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsYork County value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/100Maine 352025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyYork County value
Restaurants and bars · high12.2 /10k
88/100Maine 10.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsYork County value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high92%
5/100Maine 75%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAYork County value
Depression · high28.3%
9/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an emergency room · high12.2 mi
11/100Maine 8.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesYork County value
Comfortable days · low23.5%
14/100Maine 21.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationYork County value
Frequent mental distress · high20.7%
14/100Maine 20.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Social associations · low7.0 /10k
22/100Maine 10.7 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYork County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
21,073 (2015-2019) → 22,247 (2020-2024)
+5.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.2% (2015-2019) → 89.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.4% (2015-2019) → 45.5% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,513 (2015-2019) → $72,524 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
21.3% (2015-2019) → 14.4% (2020-2024)
−6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
4.4 /1k (2021) → 2.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−34%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Sanford, Maine improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved5

Property tax−0.5 points1.64% → 1.15%
Unemployment−2.7 points6.4% → 3.7%
Household income+38%$52,513 → $72,524
Bachelor's++5.4 points19.4% → 24.8%
Broadband+12 points78.2% → 89.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Sanford, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.5 min2015-2019	28.1 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	64%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.4%2015-2019	24.8%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Improved	71%
Broadband subscriptions	78.2%2015-2019	89.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	68%
Child poverty rate	21.3%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Effective property tax rate	1.64%2015-2019	1.15%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	90%
High school diploma or higher	91.8%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	57%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4212020-2024	+0.003	Within the margin of error	48%
Median household income	$52,5132015-2019	$72,5242020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Poverty rate	13.9%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	1.6%2015-2019	1.7%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent-burdened households	53.4%2015-2019	45.5%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	6.4%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Improved	87%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.4%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%

“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 Sanford, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sanford, 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, Sanford, Maine itself moved +8.4 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

22,247 residents (±24)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

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

Household income

9,629 households (±369)

Sanford, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k15%1,463
$25k–50k20%1,940
$50k–75k15%1,463

Homes

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

Owners and renters

9,629 households (±369)

Sanford, Maine
Maine share

Own71%6,859
Rent29%2,770

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+12.1 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

11,280 workers (±548)

Sanford, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone79%8,924
Carpool7.7%866
Public transit1.7%†195

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Portland-South Portland, ME

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 York County, the county holding most of Sanford's residents.

York County has 5,914 employer establishments, 269 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Maine's), with 56,640 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,753. The Census Bureau also counts 20,568 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,914; 20,568 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 269; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 56,640
Average annual pay: $55,753; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	642	29.2	1.89×More than typical	2,868	$65,352	2,242
Restaurants and other eating places	525	23.9	1.30×More than typical	6,521	$36,609	70
Ambulatory health care services	337	15.3	0.74×Fewer than typical	3,620	$65,816	945
Services to buildings and dwellings	288	13.1	1.94×More than typical	1,164	$54,157	1,361
Construction of buildings	282	12.8	1.70×More than typical	950	$67,689	942
Lessors of real estate	263	12	0.97×About typical	578	$50,465	2,318
Full-service restaurants	256	11.6	1.52×More than typical	3,681	$44,255	34
Building equipment contractors	253	11.5	1.91×More than typical	1,240	$67,856	448
Landscaping services	185	8.4	2.40×More than typical	745	$65,642	453
Limited-service restaurants	174	7.9	0.99×About typical	1,803	$28,030	29
Traveler accommodation	169	7.7	4.26×More than typical	1,284	$69,870	121
Automotive repair and maintenance	151	6.9	1.36×More than typical	600	$56,785	201

Rank places for an industry Open York County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 219,839 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 $247.6K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sanford, Maine: $11.13 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $247.6K; −93% vs FY2025
Per resident: $11.13; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 50%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$112.6K45%
Department of Veterans Affairs$108.9K44%
Department of the Army$47.8K19%

Top recipients

US FELT COMPANY INC$160.4K65%
THE BAKER COMPANY, INC.$106.5K43%
VALT ENTERPRIZES, INC.$00.0%
RUBB, INC.$00.0%
LAUREL A LONG COURT REPORTING LLC-$19.3K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

428.3KFY2017
2.1MFY2018
1.4MFY2019
1.1MFY2020
7.5MFY2021
631.4KFY2022
972.4KFY2023
508.2K

Top industries (NAICS)

Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing · 3371$106.5K43%
Textile and fabric finishing and fabric coating mills · 3133$105.8K43%
Other textile product mills · 3149$47.8K19%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$6,8702.8%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Sanford, Maine

SBIR/STTR PHASE II R&D$10M
VALT ENTERPRIZES, INC.· York County, ME· Research & development· Nov 18, 2020 – Jun 1, 2026· HQ086021C7100
RUBB BUILDING UPGRADE$176.1K
RUBB, INC.· York County, ME· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 30, 2025 – Feb 10, 2026· FA560625P0036
8511956757!FELT SHEET$81.3K
US FELT COMPANY INC· York County, ME· Other equipment & supplies· Mar 4, 2026 – Mar 4, 2026· SPE1C126P0496
BIO-SAFETY CABINETS$63.1K

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 Sanford, Maine, so they do not add up across cities.

Sanford, Maine's figures are part of those of York County, ME ($245.2M 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: Sanford is mostly in York County.

See federal money in York 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.

Sanford, 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.

York County93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Portland-South Portland, ME97

Other cities and towns in York 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/2365725

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends