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Towns / Maine

Ogunquit, Maine

Ogunquit is a suburb of about 1,600 people in York County, Maine, in the Portsmouth area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.7 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 66 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townSuburb of Portsmouth

Population
1,606
up 1.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$875,700
York County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$114,259
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Portland area
101.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
York, ME
To Boston
66 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 7.7 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 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is York High School, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byYork Hospital in York, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 66 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 Ogunquit 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Ogunquit runs into the built-up area around Portsmouth (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Tourist town. About 64% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, 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
$875,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%York County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$114,259U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
94%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,473 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
64%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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Portland-South Portland metro area, not Ogunquit 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
1,6062020: 1,578
Median age
62.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
44%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
6%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (22%); professional and business services (18%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line
3%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: York Hospital, York, ME, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

There are no public schools inside Ogunquit itself. The nearest public high school is York High School, about 6 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
85%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
14°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
149 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.6 inches a year
Snow
70 inches a year
Elevation
20 feet

Weather station: Cape Neddick (3 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: York Hospital, Portland, Boston.

York 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

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Colonial Inn.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Salem Maritime National Historical Park51 miles
  • Lowell National Historical Park54 miles
  • Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Ogunquit's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ogunquit?

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 Castle, NH997 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.