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Towns / Maine

Augusta, Maine

Augusta is a small town of about 19,200 people in Kennebec County, Maine. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Boston, is about 152 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
19,155
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$201,000
Kennebec County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$47,979
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Maine
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Maine General Medical Center
To Boston
152 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Maine outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood42 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 34.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 6 elementary, 1 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMaine General Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 152 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Augusta meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$201,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Kennebec County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$919 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,979U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,465 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Maine outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Augusta alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
19,1552020: 18,932
Median age
42.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (28%); retail (13%); government (12%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Maine General Medical Center, Augusta, ME, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

9 public schools in Augusta, run by Augusta Public Schools and Maine Arts Academy.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Maine at Augusta (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Maine's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
12°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
5 a year
Nights at or below freezing
147 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.7 inches a year
Snow
69 inches a year
Elevation
171 feet

Weather stations: Augusta State Ap (3 miles away) and Gardiner (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Portland, Boston.

Kennebec County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

44 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Kennebec Arsenal, Fort Western, the James G. Blaine House and the Bond Street Historic District. Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Frances Perkins National Monument24 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail54 miles
  • Acadia National Park57 miles

Campus life. Check University of Maine at Augusta's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Augusta's history on Wikipedia.

Know Augusta?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Somerville, ME623 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.