Best PlacesWashington County, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Washington County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Washington County ranks 1,354th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Washington County
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.
Washington County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington County ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of counties
Where Washington County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Washington County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,888, 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 Washington County's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Washington County
Washington County 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 Washington County.
Who works in Washington County, and how
Work in Washington County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Washington County
Washington County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of counties and more parkland per resident than 85% of counties. The coast is about 35 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Washington County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Washington County growing, and who is moving in?
Washington County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Portland, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Washington County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Washington County, month by month
Washington County sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 53° | 42° | 32° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 58° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Washington County
The nearest airport, Hancock County/Bar Harbor, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 247 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington County
Schools across Washington County average an A+, better than 99% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Conners-emerson SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Harrington Elementary SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Lubec Consolidated SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mt Jefferson Jr High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
Top high schools
- Sumner Memorial High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Old Town High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Schenck High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington County 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 Washington County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Washington County suits
Common questions about living in Washington County
Is Washington County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington County ranks 1,354th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Washington County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $166,211. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $57,888 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is Washington County safe?
Yes, Washington County is safer than 76% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Washington County?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 16. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of counties.
Is Washington County good for families?
Schools beat 100% of counties, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $1,048 a month.
Compare Washington County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington County 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.
Washington County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.