Best Places04074, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04074, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
04074 ranks 432nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 04074
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
04074's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04074 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$142,367 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 04074 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,229 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04074
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04074 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $142,367; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 04074's effective rate of 1.02%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 04074
04074 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 04074.
Who works in 04074, and how
Work in 04074 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 04074
04074 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 04074 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 04074, month by month
04074 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 04074
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04074
Schools across 04074 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pond Cove ElementaryA+ · 98% proficient
- Wentworth SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- Buxton Center Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cape Elizabeth Middle SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Gorham Middle SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Scarborough Middle SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
Top high schools
- Cape Elizabeth High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Maine Connections AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Old Orchard Beach High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04074 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04074 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 04074 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 04074 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of zip codes and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 04074
Is 04074 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04074 ranks 432nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and low crime, and lowest on state infrastructure and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04074 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $569,773. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $142,367 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 04074 safe?
Yes, 04074 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $149 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 04074?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 17. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of zip codes.
Is 04074 good for families?
Schools beat 100% of zip codes, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $1,229 a month.
Compare 04074 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04074. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04074 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
04074 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04074: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04074: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04074: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04074: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04074 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.