Living in Limestone, 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 moneyA typical home costs 2 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 Limestone 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 byCary Medical Center in Caribou, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 352 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 Limestone 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: $98,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Aroostook County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $754 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $49,938U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,332 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940: 14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%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 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Limestone 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: 1,4872020: 1,523
Median age: 45.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%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 (34%); retail (12%); government (12%)
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cary Medical Center, Caribou, ME, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

2 public schools in Limestone, run by Limestone Public Schools and ME Sch of Science & Mathematics.

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: 72%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: -1°F
July average high: 74°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 1 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 190 a year
Rain and melted snow: 40.7 inches a year
Snow: 118 inches a year
Elevation: 707 feet

Weather stations: Limestone 4 NNW (4 miles away) and Caribou Muni Ap (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

Cary Medical CenterEmergency room7

Portland, MECity of 70,000253

Boston, MAMetro of 5 million352

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: Cary Medical Center, 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Limestone's history on Wikipedia.

Know Limestone?

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

Caribou, ME7,300 people, 6 miles
Fort Fairfield, ME3,300 people, 9 miles
Woodland, ME1,200 people, 12 miles
Washburn, ME1,500 people, 14 miles
Presque Isle, ME8,700 people, 16 miles
Mapleton, ME1,900 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

Caswell, ME283 people, 8 miles
Hamlin, ME162 people, 12 miles
New Sweden, ME574 people, 13 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.