Census-designated place · Sagadahoc County, Maine

Topsham, Maine

Topsham is a census-designated place in Sagadahoc County, Maine, part of the Portland-South Portland, ME metro area. It has 7,271 residents. Topsham, Maine has a quality-of-life score of 92 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,296 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maine it ranks #20 of 104 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on depression (high), drought exposure (high) and access to exercise opportunities (low).

92Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,296 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maine: #20 of 104 in ME
Population: 7,271 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 659.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2376925

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety96#655/15,637
Economy68#4,946/15,631
Housing59#6,113/14,977
Health72#4,442/15,609
Healthcare69#4,889/15,650
Environment96#555/15,453
Education82#2,757/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,097/15,650
Community78#3,420/15,651
Leisure & amenities55#7,015/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Violent crime rate · low30 /100k
99/100Maine 93 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSagadahoc County value
High school diploma or higher · high97.0%
99/100Maine 94.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Voter turnout · high81.4%
97/100Maine 75.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSagadahoc County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.1 µg/m³
96/100Maine 4.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySagadahoc County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,636 /100k
94/100Maine 2,172 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSagadahoc County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Maine 0.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSagadahoc County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high29.1%
6/100Maine 28.4%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Drought exposure · high82%
10/100Maine 75%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASagadahoc County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low55.5%
15/100Maine 66.5%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSagadahoc County value
Distance to an emergency room · high8.2 mi
24/100Maine 8.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSagadahoc County value
New business applications · low10.0 /1k
24/100Maine 10.0 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSagadahoc County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.468
25/100Maine 0.456United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,222 (2015-2019) → 7,271 (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
56.5% (2015-2019) → 37.5% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
36.3% (2015-2019) → 24.5% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.9% (2015-2019) → 94.7% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
43.3% (2015-2019) → 52.0% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
18.0% (2015-2019) → 9.4% (2020-2024)
−8.6 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, Topsham, Maine improved on 4 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved4

Poverty−6.2 points11.9% → 5.7%
Bachelor's++8.6 points43.3% → 52.0%
Household income+42%$70,441 → $100,024
Broadband+8.8 points85.9% → 94.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Topsham, Maine between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.7 min2015-2019	23.8 min2020-2024	+3.1 min	Within the margin of error	19%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.3%2015-2019	52.0%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Improved	86%
Broadband subscriptions	85.9%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+8.8 points	Improved	53%
Effective property tax rate	1.44%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	84%
High school diploma or higher	94.3%2015-2019	97.0%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.4682020-2024	+0.044	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$70,4412015-2019	$100,0242020-2024	+42%	Improved	76%
Poverty rate	11.9%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−6.2 points	Improved	85%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	36.3%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Rent-burdened households	56.5%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	−19 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.0%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	19%

“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 Topsham, Maine five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Topsham, 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, Topsham, Maine itself moved +12 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

7,271 residents (±483)

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

3,015 households (±229)

Topsham, Maine
Maine share

Under $25k13%†381
$25k–50k12%†347
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,015 households (±229)

Topsham, Maine
Maine share

Own75%2,262
Rent25%753

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,297 workers (±405)

Topsham, Maine
Maine share

Drive alone63%2,084
Carpool16%†523
Public transit0.0%0

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 Sagadahoc County, the county holding most of Topsham's residents.

Sagadahoc County has 1,011 employer establishments, 269 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Maine's), with 14,590 paid employees at an average annual pay of $57,065. The Census Bureau also counts 3,754 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,011; 3,754 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 269; US 248 · Maine 309
Paid employees: 14,590
Average annual pay: $57,065; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	121	32.2	2.08×More than typical	643	$62,944	354
Construction of buildings	68	18.1	2.39×More than typical	225	$51,493	164
Restaurants and other eating places	66	17.6	0.96×About typical	1,024	$26,636	8
Ambulatory health care services	64	17	0.82×About typical	353	$66,955	187
Offices of other health practitioners	41	10.9	1.80×More than typical	147	$55,646	132
Services to buildings and dwellings	41	10.9	1.62×More than typical	226	$51,004	249
Building finishing contractors	40	10.6	2.80×More than typical	156	$57,103	147
Lessors of real estate	39	10.4	0.84×About typical	52	$57,788	317
Building equipment contractors	37	9.8	1.64×More than typical	165	$54,497	58
Full-service restaurants	35	9.3	1.21×About typical	629	$28,078	—
Landscaping services	28	7.5	2.13×More than typical	128	$63,211	100
Limited-service restaurants	24	6.4	0.80×Fewer than typical	340	$24,347	4

Rank places for an industry Open Sagadahoc County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,576 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 $12.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Topsham, Maine: $1.66 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $12.1K; −63% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.66; 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

Bureau of the Fiscal Service$8,23668%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$3,85532%

Top recipients

CARTEGRAPH SYSTEMS LLC$8,23668%
NORTHERN PRIDE COMMUNICATIONS INC$3,85532%

Spending by fiscal year

130.6KFY2017
156.4KFY2018
11KFY2019
125KFY2020
96.9KFY2021
393KFY2022
98.3KFY2023
44.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$8,23668%
Utility system construction · 2371$3,85532%

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

Topsham, Maine's figures are part of those of Sagadahoc County, ME ($2.1B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sagadahoc 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.

Topsham, 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.

Sagadahoc County93100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Portland-South Portland, ME97

Other cities and towns in Sagadahoc 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/2376925

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends