Best PlacesYork County, ME Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in York County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
York County ranks 136th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $94,312, wages outrun the cost of living, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are an overheated housing market, state infrastructure, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in York 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.
The best areas in York County
The parts of York County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Berwick, Eliot & South Berwick
Fewer homes sit empty, crime runs lower, and tree cover is thicker.
York, Wells & Cape Neddick
More adults hold degrees, though it is noisier.
Saco, Old Orchard Beach & West Buxton
Fewer households have young kids.
Alfred & South Sanford
Streets are more car-dependent.
Hollis Center, North Waterboro & Limington
Prices have run up less, though biking is worse.
Biddeford
Commutes are shorter, though local pay stretches less far.
Sanford, Springvale & Lebanon
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Limerick
More residents vote.
Scores across York County run from about the 24th to the 98th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
York County's strengths and weaknesses
York County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Low crime is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Good schools and cheap car insurance follow.
The one real hole is an overheated housing market, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where York County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of counties
Where York County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,184 a month, better than only 9% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in York County
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median York County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,312, 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 York County's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 York County
York 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 York County.
Who works in York County, and how
Work in York County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in York County
York County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of counties. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of York County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is York County growing, and who is moving in?
York County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Portland, OR metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving York County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in York County, month by month
York County sees roughly 67 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 York County
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around York County
Schools across York County average an A+, better than 99% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mildred L Day SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Coastal Ridge ElementaryA+ · 93% proficient
- Sea Road SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Of The KennebunksA+ · 94% proficient
- York Middle SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Marshwood Middle SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
Top high schools
- Robert W Traip AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Old Orchard Beach High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Kennebunk High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every York County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
York 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 York County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who York County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in York County
Is York County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, York County ranks 136th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, good schools, and cheap car insurance, 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 York County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $424,787. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $94,312 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is York County safe?
Yes, York County is safer than 100% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $165 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in York County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 14. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in York County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Berwick, Eliot & South Berwick, York, Wells & Cape Neddick, and Saco, Old Orchard Beach & West Buxton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is York County good for families?
Schools beat 100% of counties, crime safety beats 100%, and childcare runs $1,184 a month.
Is York County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 52% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare York County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to York County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in York 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.
York County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for York County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in York County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of York County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in York County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
York 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.