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Towns / Maine

Fort Kent, Maine

Fort Kent is a small town of about 4,200 people in Aroostook County, Maine. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 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 359 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,151
up 1.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$160,700
Aroostook County prices up 28% since 2022
Household income
$56,270
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Maine
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Northern Maine Medical Center
To Boston
359 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 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byNorthern Maine Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 359 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 Fort Kent 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
$160,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 28%Aroostook County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$926 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,270U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,317 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%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 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Fort Kent 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
4,1512020: 4,072
Median age
45.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
35%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
10%share of all residents

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%); finance, insurance and real estate (15%); construction (10%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Northern Maine Medical Center, Fort Kent, ME, in town. 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: Cary Medical Center, Caribou, ME, about 37 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 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

3 public schools in Fort Kent, run by Msad 27.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Maine at Fort Kent (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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
-3°F
July average high
76°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
201 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.6 inches a year
Snow
99 inches a year
Elevation
709 feet

Weather station: Ft Kent (2 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

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.

Aroostook County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Fort Kent. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

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

Read about Fort Kent's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fort Kent?

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

  • New Canada, ME308 people, 6 miles
  • Wallagrass, ME510 people, 6 miles
  • St. John, ME261 people, 9 miles
  • St. Agatha, ME732 people, 12 miles
  • Eagle Lake, ME754 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.