Best Places04780, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04780, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
04780 ranks 12,751st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 04780
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.
04780's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04780 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 04780 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04780
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04780 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,814, 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 04780's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 04780
04780's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 04780.
Who works in 04780, and how
Work in 04780 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 04780
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 04780.
What the weather is like in 04780, month by month
04780 sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 18° | 7° |
| April | 52° | 40° | 28° |
| July | 82° | 68° | 55° |
| October | 60° | 48° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 04780
The nearest airport, Presque Isle International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 297 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04780
Schools across 04780 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Houlton Southside SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Houlton Junior High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Top high schools
- Houlton High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Central Aroostook Jr-sr H SA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04780 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04780 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 04780 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 04780
Is 04780 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04780 ranks 12,751st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and low crime, and lowest on distance from a big city and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04780 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,368. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $61,814 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 04780 safe?
Yes, 04780 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $154 per resident a year.
Compare 04780 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04780. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04780 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.
04780 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04780: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04780: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04780: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04780: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04780 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.