Best PlacesWest Washington, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Washington, 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.
West Washington ranks 11,947th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Washington
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 Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Washington ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of towns
Where West Washington ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Washington
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,438, 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 West Washington's effective rate of 1.06%, 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 6 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 Washington
West Washington'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 West Washington.
Who works in West Washington, and how
Work in West Washington centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Washington
The coast is about 28 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West Washington, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Washington, month by month
West Washington sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of West Washington
The nearest airport, Augusta State, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Washington
Schools across West Washington average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Prescott Memorial SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Jefferson Village SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Windsor Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Medomak Middle SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
Top high schools
- Medomak Valley High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Washington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Washington 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 Washington against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Washington
Is West Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Washington ranks 11,947th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and low crime, 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 West Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,627. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $66,438 median income, cost of living beats 26% of towns.
Is West Washington safe?
Yes, West Washington is safer than 97% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $144 per resident a year.
Compare West Washington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Washington 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 Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Washington 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.