Best PlacesNorth Buckfield, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Buckfield, 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.
North Buckfield ranks 12,758th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Buckfield
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.
North Buckfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Buckfield ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
Where North Buckfield ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Short commute37.2 minutes each way, better than only 9% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 9% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Buckfield
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Buckfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,618, 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 North Buckfield's effective rate of 1.12%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Buckfield
North Buckfield 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 North Buckfield.
Who works in North Buckfield, and how
Work in North Buckfield centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in North Buckfield
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Buckfield.
What the weather is like in North Buckfield, month by month
North Buckfield sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 43° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 70° | 58° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of North Buckfield
The nearest airport, Augusta State, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Buckfield
Schools across North Buckfield average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hartford-sumner Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top high schools
- Buckfield Jr-sr High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Buckfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Buckfield 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 North Buckfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Buckfield
Is North Buckfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Buckfield ranks 12,758th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, good schools, and cheap car insurance, 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 North Buckfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,732. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $62,618 median income, cost of living beats 31% of towns.
Is North Buckfield safe?
Yes, North Buckfield is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $122 per resident a year.
Compare North Buckfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Buckfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Buckfield 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.
North Buckfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Buckfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Buckfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Buckfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Buckfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Buckfield 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.