Best PlacesNorth Shapleigh, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Shapleigh, 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 Shapleigh ranks 2,463rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Shapleigh
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 Shapleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Shapleigh ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of towns
Where North Shapleigh ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Shapleigh
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Shapleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $107,871, 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 Shapleigh's effective rate of 0.77%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Shapleigh
North Shapleigh's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Shapleigh.
Who works in North Shapleigh, and how
Work in North Shapleigh centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Shapleigh
The coast is about 40 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Shapleigh, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Shapleigh, month by month
North Shapleigh sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 25° | 14° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 38° |
Flying in and out of North Shapleigh
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Shapleigh
Schools across North Shapleigh average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Shapleigh Memorial SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Massabesic Middle SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
Top high schools
- Massabesic High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Shapleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Shapleigh 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 Shapleigh against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Shapleigh
Is North Shapleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Shapleigh ranks 2,463rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Shapleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,845. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $107,871 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is North Shapleigh safe?
Yes, North Shapleigh is safer than 97% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $143 per resident a year.
Compare North Shapleigh with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Shapleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Shapleigh 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 Shapleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Shapleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Shapleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Shapleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Shapleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Shapleigh 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.