Best PlacesNorth Harpswell, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Harpswell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Harpswell ranks 7,733rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Harpswell
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 Harpswell's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Harpswell ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of towns
Where North Harpswell ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Short commute37.9 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,229 a month, better than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Harpswell
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Harpswell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,833, 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 North Harpswell's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 North Harpswell
North Harpswell 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 Harpswell.
Who works in North Harpswell, and how
Work in North Harpswell centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in North Harpswell
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Harpswell, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Harpswell, month by month
North Harpswell sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 26° | 15° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of North Harpswell
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Harpswell
Schools across North Harpswell average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harpswell Community SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mt Ararat Middle SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top high schools
- Mt Ararat High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Harpswell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Harpswell 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 Harpswell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Harpswell
Is North Harpswell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Harpswell ranks 7,733rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on an overheated housing market and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Harpswell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $609,600. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $64,833 median income, cost of living beats 23% of towns.
Is North Harpswell safe?
Yes, North Harpswell is safer than 96% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $149 per resident a year.
Compare North Harpswell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Harpswell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Harpswell 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 Harpswell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Harpswell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Harpswell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Harpswell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Harpswell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Harpswell 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.