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Place dossier plate
SheetME-ELLSWORTH-ME · Ellsworth, ME 8,550 pop · income 51st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Ellsworth
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ellsworth on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Sallisaw · lowest
47,333
Sallisaw · lowest
47,333 median HH income
25.2% of the leader · rank #1
Ellsworth · this city
70,990
Ellsworth · this city
70,990 median HH income
37.9% of the leader · rank #2
Saw Creek · near
70,992
Saw Creek · near
70,992 median HH income
37.9% of the leader · rank #3
Orchidlands E… · near
70,996
Orchidlands E… · near
70,996 median HH income
37.9% of the leader · rank #4
Venice Gardens · near
71,000
Venice Gardens · near
71,000 median HH income
37.9% of the leader · rank #5
McCullom Lake · near
71,000
McCullom Lake · near
71,000 median HH income
37.9% of the leader · rank #6
Closter · highest
187,500
Closter · highest
187,500 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ellsworth on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 8,550.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ellsworth - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Ellsworth lands in the 51st percentile for household income and the 22nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
51st
percentile, household income
47th
percentile, home value
69th
percentile, median rent
22nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Ellsworth, ME
Maine's Ellsworth is a small town, with 8,550 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $70,990 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Home values in Ellsworth run a median of $214,500, and the median resident age is 40.9 years. Educational attainment runs 41.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 62.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 29 residential building permits were authorized in Ellsworth (Construction Slowdown), down 53% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2553.3 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Maine tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Maine at 97.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,448 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Maine's average monthly utility costs around $273 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 56.7 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ellsworth's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ellsworth, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Ellsworth growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +447 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 29 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
How far does income reach against housing in Ellsworth?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Ellsworth?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2553.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 12% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ellsworth?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Maine, the closest population matches are Presque Isle (8,736 residents, $57,396 income); Bath (8,801 residents, $65,565 income); Old Orchard Beach (9,150 residents, $65,842 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sallisaw, OK (8,553 residents); Skiatook, OK (8,553 residents); Summit Park, UT (8,545 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Ellsworth?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
73.1%
Work from home
5.0%
Public transit
1.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,308 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Ellsworth?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 41.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
5.9%
Bachelor's degree+
41.1%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 5.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Maine average
C
City profile score · Ellsworth, ME
56/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share B+
41.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living C-
97.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income C-
$70,990
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime D
204 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Ellsworth profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 41.1%
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $70,990
Violent crime: 47/100 (D) · 204 /100k
Where Ellsworth sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ellsworth's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Ellsworth highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Ellsworth, ME (this city): home $214,500, crime 2,553/100k
Sallisaw, OK : home $123,500, crime 3,660/100k
Skiatook, OK : home $168,600, crime 1,422/100k
Closter, NJ : home $820,100, crime 1,204/100k
Corrales, NM : home $549,700, crime 624/100k
Presque Isle, ME : home $142,400, crime 2,395/100k
Bath, ME : home $285,400, crime 789/100k
Old Orchard Beach, ME : home $317,800, crime 1,147/100k
Brewer, ME : home $218,100, crime 1,836/100k
How does Ellsworth compare to other US cities?
Where Ellsworth sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Home value47% pricier than other cities
Median rent69% pricier than other cities
Safety22% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Maine, Ellsworth ranks #63 of 73 Maine cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ellsworth against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Maine only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Maine-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ellsworth near the bottom of Maine's cities
Among the 154 Maine cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ellsworth ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ellsworth only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#44 of 145
70th percentile in Maine
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 154
0th percentile in Maine
Median Home Value
#74 of 151
51st percentile in Maine
Poverty Rate
#89 of 154
42nd percentile in Maine
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#43 of 154
72nd percentile in Maine
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Maine only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
51st percentile nationally for median household income · 22nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ellsworth's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ellsworth's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Ellsworth's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$214,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 53% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Ellsworth's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,807 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,739 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Ellsworth sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,807 of 15,516 and #5,739 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$70,990Ellsworth, ME median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ellsworth, ME median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ellsworth, ME.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)41.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,550
Median Income
$70,990
Median Home Value
$214,500
Median Age
40.9
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
62.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
41.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2553.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
204.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2349.1
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ellsworth's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,415 residents
2021
8,577 residents
2022
8,716 residents
2023
8,767 residents
2024
8,850 residents
2025
8,862 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
29
housing units authorized
Single-Family
27
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
62
26
36
$10.3M
2020
51
28
23
$8.3M
2021
92
63
29
$19.8M
2022
39
35
4
$9.7M
2023
132
55
77
$22.1M
2024
29
27
2
$7.2M
Permit volume decreased 53% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.1%
Carpool
12.6%
Public Transit
1.1%
Walk
6.4%
Work from Home
5.0%
Other
1.8%
Based on 4,308 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Maine statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $273
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Maine at $273 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Maine statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ellsworth. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Maine's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ellsworth is $1,448/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Maine statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 56.7 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Maine statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ellsworth sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ellsworth compares to similar-size Maine cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.