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Place dossier plate
SheetME-THOMASTON-ME · Thomaston, ME 2,021 pop · income 17th 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 Thomaston
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Thomaston on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jamestown · lowest
25,602
Jamestown · lowest
25,602 median HH income
16.7% of the leader · rank #1
Glen Ullin · near
48,558
Glen Ullin · near
48,558 median HH income
31.8% of the leader · rank #2
New Effington · near
48,558
New Effington · near
48,558 median HH income
31.8% of the leader · rank #3
Wrigley · near
48,558
Wrigley · near
48,558 median HH income
31.8% of the leader · rank #4
Thomaston · this city
48,563
Thomaston · this city
48,563 median HH income
31.8% of the leader · rank #5
Wilkinsburg · near
48,565
Wilkinsburg · near
48,565 median HH income
31.8% of the leader · rank #6
Falmouth Fore… · highest
152,870
Falmouth Fore… · highest
152,870 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 Thomaston 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: 2,021.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Thomaston - the verdict
Thomaston ranks in the 17th percentile for household income and the 9th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
17th
percentile, household income
57th
percentile, home value
69th
percentile, median rent
9th
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: Thomaston, ME
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 2,021 residents in Thomaston, a small town within Maine. Households in Thomaston report a median income of $48,563 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.3%. Typical homes in Thomaston are valued around $258,700, and the median resident age is 60.3 years. Educational attainment runs 27.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 50.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Thomaston's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3803.0 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Maine tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Maine scores 97.1 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,448 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $273 across Maine, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Thomaston'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 reported crime to work and mobility to housing and income 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 Thomaston, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for annual population history, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Thomaston?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3803.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 67% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Thomaston?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 84.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Thomaston?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Which cities make useful reference points for Thomaston?
Within Maine, the closest population matches are Mexico (2,026 residents, $46,625 income); Berwick (2,085 residents, $64,864 income); Richmond (1,946 residents, $72,036 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Jamestown, KY (2,021 residents); Bay Springs, MS (2,021 residents); South Park, WY (2,021 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.
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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Thomaston?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 27.2% 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.
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.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
27.2%
Poverty estimate
3.3%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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.
Violent crime A
36 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B+
3.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
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 F
$48,563
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Thomaston profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 87/100 (A) · 36 /100k
Poverty rate: 76/100 (B+) · 3.3%
Bachelor's+ share: 53/100 (C-) · 27.2%
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Household income: 18/100 (F) · $48,563
Where Thomaston sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Thomaston'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 - Thomaston highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Thomaston, ME (this city): home $258,700, crime 3,803/100k
Jamestown, KY : home $119,200, crime 691/100k
Bay Springs, MS : home $147,600, crime 1,203/100k
Berwick, ME : home $309,600, crime 921/100k
Richmond, ME : home $221,600, crime 56/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Thomaston compare to other US cities?
Here's how Thomaston stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income17% higher than other cities
Home value57% pricier than other cities
Median rent69% pricier than other cities
Safety9% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Maine and the picture shifts: Thomaston ranks #70 of 73 Maine cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Thomaston 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 Thomaston near the bottom of Maine's cities
Among the 154 Maine cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Thomaston ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Thomaston only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#104 of 145
28th percentile in Maine
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 154
0th percentile in Maine
Median Home Value
#56 of 151
63rd percentile in Maine
Poverty Rate
#113 of 154
27th percentile in Maine
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#76 of 154
51st 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
17th percentile nationally for median household income · 9th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Thomaston's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Thomaston'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 Thomaston's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$258,70043rd percentilemore affordable than 43% 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
Thomaston's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,358 of 15,516
More affordable than 14% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,026 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.3×, Thomaston sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,358 of 15,516 and #10,026 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$48,563Thomaston, ME median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Thomaston, 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 Thomaston, ME.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,021
Median Income
$48,563
Median Home Value
$258,700
Median Age
60.3
Poverty Rate
3.3%
Labor force participation
50.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3803.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
36.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3766.8
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
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
84.6%
Carpool
9.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
2.1%
Other
4.0%
Based on 868 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 Thomaston. 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 Thomaston 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 Thomaston sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Thomaston 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.