Best PlacesStanwood Park, South Portland, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Stanwood Park, South Portland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Stanwood Park, South Portland ranks 161st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Stanwood Park, South Portland
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.
Stanwood Park, South Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Stanwood Park, South Portland ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Stanwood Park, South Portland ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 29% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Stanwood Park, South Portland
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Stanwood Park, South Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,338, 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 Stanwood Park, South Portland's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 Stanwood Park, South Portland
Stanwood Park, South Portland 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 Stanwood Park, South Portland.
Who works in Stanwood Park, South Portland, and how
Work in Stanwood Park, South Portland centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Stanwood Park, South Portland
The coast is about 4 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Stanwood Park, South Portland, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Stanwood Park, South Portland, month by month
Stanwood Park, South Portland sees roughly 73 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 Stanwood Park, South Portland
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 95 miles away.
The best schools in and around Stanwood Park, South Portland
Schools across Stanwood Park, South Portland average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Pond Cove ElementaryA+ · 98% proficient
- Dora L Small Elementary SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Dyer Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cape Elizabeth Middle SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Daniel F. Mahoney Middle SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Memorial Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top high schools
- Cape Elizabeth High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- South Portland High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Stanwood Park, South Portland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Stanwood Park, South Portland 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 Stanwood Park, South Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Stanwood Park, South Portland
Is Stanwood Park, South Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Stanwood Park, South Portland ranks 161st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and few empty homes, and lowest on state infrastructure and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Stanwood Park, South Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $514,077. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $116,338 median income, cost of living beats 83% of neighborhoods.
Is Stanwood Park, South Portland safe?
Yes, Stanwood Park, South Portland is safer than 93% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $228 per resident a year.
Compare Stanwood Park, South Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Stanwood Park, South Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Stanwood Park, South Portland 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.
Stanwood Park, South Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Stanwood Park, South Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Stanwood Park, South Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Stanwood Park, South Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Stanwood Park, South Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Stanwood Park, South Portland 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.