Best Places04691, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04691, 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.
04691 ranks 16,929th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 04691
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.
04691's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04691 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 04691 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04691
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04691 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $54,151; 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 04691's effective rate of 0.97%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 04691
04691 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 04691.
Who works in 04691, and how
Work in 04691 centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 04691
The coast is about 20 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 04691, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 04691, month by month
04691 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 53° | 42° | 32° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 58° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 04691
The nearest airport, Hancock County/Bar Harbor, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 250 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04691
Schools across 04691 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Whiting Village SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Shead High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Machias Memorial High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04691 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04691 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 04691 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 04691
Is 04691 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04691 ranks 16,929th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, and tree cover, and lowest on distance from a big city and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04691 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,442. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $54,151 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 04691 safe?
Yes, 04691 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
Compare 04691 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04691. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04691 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.
04691 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04691: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04691: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04691: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04691: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04691 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.