Living in Buckfield, Maine: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Buckfield to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Buckfield itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMainehealth Stephens Hospital in Norway, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 137 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 Buckfield 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: $227,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 25%Oxford County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $521 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 95%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,860 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940: 29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 9%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 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Buckfield 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: 2,1142020: 1,987
Median age: 37.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 27%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%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 (31%); retail (14%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line: 6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mainehealth Stephens Hospital, Norway, ME, about 9 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, ME, about 13 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Buckfield, run by Rsu 17/msad 17 and Rsu 10.

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: 83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 94%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: 10°F
July average high: 79°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 3 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 155 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.1 inches a year
Snow: 78 inches a year
Elevation: 361 feet

Weather station: Turner (6 miles away). 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

Mainehealth Stephens HospitalEmergency room9

Portland, MECity of 70,00044

Boston, MAMetro of 5 million137

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: Mainehealth Stephens Hospital, Portland, Boston.

Oxford County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail35 miles
Frances Perkins National Monument44 miles

Read about Buckfield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Buckfield?

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

Hebron, ME1,300 people, 4 miles
Turner, ME6,100 people, 6 miles
Paris, ME5,400 people, 6 miles
Minot, ME2,900 people, 9 miles
West Paris, ME1,800 people, 9 miles
Sumner, ME1,000 people, 9 miles

Sources

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.