Best Places04984, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04984, 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.
04984 ranks 17,331st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 04984
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.
04984's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04984 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 04984 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute35.5 minutes each way, better than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04984
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04984 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,087, 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 04984's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 04984
04984 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 04984.
Who works in 04984, and how
Work in 04984 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 04984
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 04984.
What the weather is like in 04984, month by month
04984 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 46° | 38° | 30° |
| July | 75° | 66° | 58° |
| October | 54° | 46° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 04984
The nearest airport, Augusta State, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04984
Schools across 04984 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Mt Blue Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
Top high schools
- Mt Blue High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04984 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04984 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 04984 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 04984
Is 04984 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04984 ranks 17,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, tree cover, and good schools, and lowest on state infrastructure and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04984 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $210,200. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $56,087 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 04984 safe?
Yes, 04984 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare 04984 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04984. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04984 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.
04984 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04984: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04984: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04984: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04984: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04984 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.