Best Places04443, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04443, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
04443 ranks 12,049th 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 04443
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.
04443's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04443 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
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 04443 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04443
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04443 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,362, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 04443's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 04443
04443 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 04443.
Who works in 04443, and how
Work in 04443 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 04443
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 04443.
What the weather is like in 04443, month by month
04443 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 50° | 38° | 29° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 58° |
| October | 57° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 04443
The nearest airport, Bangor International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 210 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04443
Schools across 04443 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Piscataquis Community ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Harmony ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Se Do Mo Cha Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Se Do Mo Cha Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
Top high schools
- Piscataquis Community Secondary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Dexter Regional High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Penquis Valley Middle/high SchoolA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04443 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04443 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 04443 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 04443
Is 04443 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04443 ranks 12,049th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and low crime, and lowest on state infrastructure and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04443 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,768. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $52,362 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 04443 safe?
Yes, 04443 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $149 per resident a year.
Compare 04443 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04443. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04443 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.
04443 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04443: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04443: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04443: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04443: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04443 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.