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Towns / Maine

Eastport, Maine

Eastport is a small town of about 1,300 people in Washington County, Maine. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 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 268 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,285
up 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$179,800
Washington County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$45,573
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Maine
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Calais, ME
To Boston
268 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 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCalais Community Hospital in Calais, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 268 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 Eastport 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
$179,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Washington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$565 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,573U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,490 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940
49%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
19%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Eastport 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
1,2852020: 1,283
Median age
61.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
42%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
36%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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 (43%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (10%); retail (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Calais Community Hospital, Calais, ME, about 22 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital, Ellsworth, ME, about 74 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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 Eastport, run by Eastport Public Schools.

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
76%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
15°F
July average high
75°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
138 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.6 inches a year
Snow
62 inches a year
Elevation
47 feet

Weather station: Eastport (1 mile 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

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: Calais Community Hospital, Portland, Boston.

Washington County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Boynton Street Historic District, the Eastport Historic District and Fort Sullivan.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Saint Croix Island International Historic Site16 miles

Read about Eastport's history on Wikipedia.

Know Eastport?

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

  • Pembroke, ME778 people, 6 miles
  • Perry, ME798 people, 7 miles
  • Dennysville, ME312 people, 12 miles
  • Robbinston, ME554 people, 13 miles
  • Charlotte, ME337 people, 15 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.