Best PlacesNorth Orland, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Orland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Orland ranks 1,114th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Orland
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 Orland's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Orland ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of towns
Where North Orland ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Orland
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Orland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $108,153, 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 Orland's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Orland
North Orland runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Orland.
Who works in North Orland, and how
Work in North Orland centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in North Orland
The coast is about 34 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Orland, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Orland, month by month
North Orland sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 23° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of North Orland
The nearest airport, Bangor International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 202 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Orland
Schools across North Orland average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dedham SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Top high schools
- Brewer High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Orland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Orland 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 Orland against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Orland
Is North Orland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Orland ranks 1,114th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on state infrastructure and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Orland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $344,450. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $108,153 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is North Orland safe?
Yes, North Orland is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $124 per resident a year.
Compare North Orland with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Orland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Orland 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 Orland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Orland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Orland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Orland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Orland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Orland 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.