Best Places04985, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 04985, 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.
04985 ranks 15,604th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 04985
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.
04985's strengths and weaknesses
Where 04985 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 04985 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 04985
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 04985 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,500, 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 04985's effective rate of 0.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 04985
04985 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 04985.
Who works in 04985, and how
Work in 04985 centers on hospitality & food and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 04985
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 04985.
What the weather is like in 04985, month by month
04985 sees roughly 81 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 04985
The nearest airport, Bangor International, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 213 miles away.
The best schools in and around 04985
Schools across 04985 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stratton Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Piscataquis Community ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Se Do Mo Cha Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top high schools
- Piscataquis Community Secondary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Upper Kennebec Valley Middle/senior High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 04985 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
04985 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 04985 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 04985
Is 04985 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 04985 ranks 15,604th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on cell coverage and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 04985 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,100. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $57,500 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 04985 safe?
Yes, 04985 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
Compare 04985 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 04985. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 04985 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.
04985 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 04985: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 04985: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 04985: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 04985: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
04985 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.