Best PlacesCumberland County, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cumberland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cumberland County ranks 31st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $105,404, wages outrun the cost of living, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are an overheated housing market, state infrastructure, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Cumberland County
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.
The best areas in Cumberland County
The parts of Cumberland County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Cape Elizabeth
Streets are more walkable, biking is better, and more adults hold degrees.
Yarmouth
Incomes run higher, though more homes sit empty.
Gorham, Windham & Standish
It is quieter and tree cover is thicker.
Westbrook, Falmouth & Cumberland Center
More households have young kids and transit reaches more jobs.
Portland, South Portland & Scarborough
Commutes are shorter, though crime runs higher.
Gray & New Gloucester
Local pay stretches further and homes cost less.
Brunswick & Freeport
Schools score higher.
Bridgton, Raymond & Naples
Prices have run up more and health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Cumberland County run from about the 36th to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Cumberland County's strengths and weaknesses
Cumberland County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Good schools is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Cheap car insurance and an educated workforce follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. An overheated housing market, state infrastructure, and childcare costs hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Cumberland County ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
Where Cumberland County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,229 a month, better than only 8% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 21% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cumberland County
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cumberland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $105,404, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Cumberland County's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 Cumberland County
Cumberland County 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 Cumberland County.
Who works in Cumberland County, and how
Work in Cumberland County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Cumberland County
Cumberland County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more parkland per resident than 68% of counties. The coast is about 16 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Cumberland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cumberland County growing, and who is moving in?
Cumberland County has grown about 9% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Portland, OR metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cumberland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cumberland County, month by month
Cumberland County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Cumberland County
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 102 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cumberland County
Schools across Cumberland County average an A+, better than 99% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pond Cove ElementaryA+ · 98% proficient
- Yarmouth Elementary SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Falmouth Elementary SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frank H Harrison Middle SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Cape Elizabeth Middle SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Falmouth Middle SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
Top high schools
- Falmouth High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Cape Elizabeth High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Freeport High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cumberland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cumberland County 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 Cumberland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cumberland County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Cumberland County
Is Cumberland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cumberland County ranks 31st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cumberland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $497,977. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $105,404 median income, cost of living beats 89% of counties.
Is Cumberland County safe?
Yes, Cumberland County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $218 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cumberland County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 17. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Cumberland County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, and Gorham, Windham & Standish. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Cumberland County good for families?
Schools beat 100% of counties, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,229 a month.
Is Cumberland County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 56% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Cumberland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cumberland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cumberland County 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.
Cumberland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cumberland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cumberland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cumberland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cumberland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cumberland County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.