Best PlacesWest End, Portland, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West End, Portland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West End, Portland ranks 669th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West End, 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.
West End, Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where West End, Portland ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where West End, Portland ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 30% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West End, Portland
A household needs to earn about $187,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West End, Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,794, 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 West End, Portland's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 West End, Portland
West End, Portland's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 West End, Portland.
Who works in West End, Portland, and how
Work in West End, Portland centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 40%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in West End, Portland
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West End, Portland, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West End, Portland, month by month
West End, 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 West End, Portland
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around West End, Portland
Schools across West End, Portland average an A, better than 92% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Howard C Reiche Community SchA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- King Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West End, Portland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West End, 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 West End, Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West End, Portland
Is West End, Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West End, Portland ranks 669th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, biking, and walkability, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West End, Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $688,818. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $80,794 median income, cost of living beats 44% of neighborhoods.
Is West End, Portland safe?
Yes, West End, Portland is safer than 82% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
Compare West End, Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West End, Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West End, 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.
West End, Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West End, Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West End, Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West End, Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West End, Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West End, 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.