We used data and science to identify which places in Maine are total snoozefests.

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Maine that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in ME are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Maine’s borders. You know the places: the ones where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Calais, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Maine. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Calais. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Maine as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement:

Calais Caribou Belfast Ellsworth Hallowell Presque Isle Brewer Saco Augusta Auburn

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.


How we determined the boring cities in the Pine Tree State

To figure out how boring a place is, we rely on a complex algorithm that factors in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people. Here are some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring:

% of Population Over 35 (higher is more boring)

% of Married Household (higher is more boring)

Average Age (higher is more boring)

% of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)

% of Households with People Over 65 (higher is more boring)

Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates several lists of the cities that have plenty of residents with high rankings in all of these categories. After a crunching of the numbers, a list of all of the cities magically appears listing them from most boring to most exciting.

For this list, we used every Maine city that qualified for our rankings based on having a population of at least 2,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.


1. Calais

Population: 3,091

Average Age: 48.0

Married Households: 48.1%

Households With Kids: 25.7%

2. Caribou

Population: 8,099

Average Age: 43.7

Married Households: 50.3%

Households With Kids: 27.2%

3. Belfast

Population: 6,672

Average Age: 43.2

Married Households: 47.7%

Households With Kids: 29.7%

4. Ellsworth

Population: 7,777

Average Age: 45.2

Married Households: 52.7%

Households With Kids: 27.2%

5. Hallowell

Population: 2,412

Average Age: 50.4

Married Households: 40.8%

Households With Kids: 18.6%

6. Presque Isle

Population: 9,568

Average Age: 43.1

Married Households: 46.2%

Households With Kids: 25.1%

7. Brewer

Population: 9,428

Average Age: 40.8

Married Households: 53.8%

Households With Kids: 28.6%

8. Saco

Population: 18,647

Average Age: 42.3

Married Households: 52.6%

Households With Kids: 26.6%

9. Augusta

Population: 19,002

Average Age: 42.7

Married Households: 41.6%

Households With Kids: 23.7%

10. Auburn

Population: 23,040

Average Age: 40.5

Married Households: 47.2%

Households With Kids: 28.1%

Now That You’re Asleep

On a list like this, there are usually no winners, but since Maine isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States (barely), the cities on this list can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

Just not these places.

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City Rank Population Average Age Married Households Households With Kids Calais 1 3,091 48.0 48.1% 25.7% Caribou 2 8,099 43.7 50.3% 27.2% Belfast 3 6,672 43.2 47.7% 29.7% Ellsworth 4 7,777 45.2 52.7% 27.2% Hallowell 5 2,412 50.4 40.8% 18.6% Presque Isle 6 9,568 43.1 46.2% 25.1% Brewer 7 9,428 40.8 53.8% 28.6% Saco 8 18,647 42.3 52.6% 26.6% Augusta 9 19,002 42.7 41.6% 23.7% Auburn 10 23,040 40.5 47.2% 28.1% Gardiner 11 5,761 41.0 49.0% 30.9% Rockland 12 7,273 46.9 39.5% 18.7% Bath 13 8,456 40.7 46.1% 21.2% Westbrook 14 17,578 39.2 45.2% 28.5% South Portland 15 25,073 40.0 44.3% 28.8% Old Town 16 7,799 33.5 47.7% 24.7% Lewiston 17 36,536 38.1 38.6% 27.3% Biddeford 18 21,318 35.6 43.3% 27.8% Waterville 19 15,798 36.8 37.6% 21.7% Bangor 20 32,900 36.5 36.9% 23.5% Portland 21 66,227 37.0 37.0% 20.8%

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