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Towns / Maine

Harpswell, Maine

Harpswell is a tourist town of about 5,100 people in Cumberland County, Maine. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.3 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 110 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
5,102
up 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$609,700
Cumberland County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$96,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Portland area
101.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Brunswick, ME
To Boston
110 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.9% above the U.S. average in the Portland-South Portland metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Harpswell 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Brunswick High School, about 10 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMainehealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 110 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 Harpswell 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.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 1 in 3 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$609,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Cumberland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,348 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$96,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,141 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
34%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
101.9U.S. average = 100 (the Portland-South Portland metro area)

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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Portland-South Portland metro area, not Harpswell 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
5,1022020: 5,023
Median age
62 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
39%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
9%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
53%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (27%); professional and business services (12%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
21%U.S.: 15%
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 Mid Coast Hospital, Brunswick, ME, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

1 public school in Harpswell, run by Rsu 75/msad 75. The nearest public high school is Brunswick High School, about 10 miles away.

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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
4 a year
Nights at or below freezing
151 a year
Rain and melted snow
50 inches a year
Snow
67 inches a year
Elevation
33 feet

Weather station: Brunswick Nas (12 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: Mainehealth Mid Coast Hospital, Portland, Boston.

Cumberland County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Eagle Island. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Frances Perkins National Monument28 miles

Read about Harpswell's history on Wikipedia.

Know Harpswell?

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

  • Chebeague Island, ME398 people, 5 miles
  • Long Island, ME235 people, 10 miles
  • Arrowsic, ME499 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.