Best PlacesWest Newfield, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Newfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Newfield ranks 17,994th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Newfield
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 Newfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Newfield ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of towns
Where West Newfield ranks low
- Short commute46.3 minutes each way, better than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Newfield
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Newfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,434, 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 Newfield's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 West Newfield
West Newfield 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 West Newfield.
Who works in West Newfield, and how
Work in West Newfield centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Newfield
The coast is about 43 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West Newfield, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Newfield, month by month
West Newfield sees roughly 59 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 West Newfield
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Newfield
Schools across West Newfield average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Acton Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Shapleigh Memorial SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Line ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Massabesic Middle SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Sacopee Valley Middle SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top high schools
- Massabesic High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Sacopee Valley High SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Kingswood Regional High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Newfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Newfield 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 Newfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Newfield
Is West Newfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Newfield ranks 17,994th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and low crime, and lowest on long commutes 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 West Newfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $322,418. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $59,434 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is West Newfield safe?
Yes, West Newfield is safer than 98% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $138 per resident a year.
Compare West Newfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Newfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Newfield 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 Newfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Newfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Newfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Newfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Newfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Newfield 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.