What stands out worked out from the figures below

Bath has the most people working from home (19.3%).

Jay has the most affordable homes ($169k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Bath	Jay
People
Population	8,815Highest	4,657Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+3%Highest ME: +2.6%	-4.8%Lowest ME: +2.6%
Median age	45.4±3Highest about the ME average	39.5±5.1Lowest 12% below ME
	Bath and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	15.5%±3.7Lowest ME: 18.1%	17.5%±5.4Highest ME: 18.1%
	Jay and Bath are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	25.2%±4.1Highest ME: 22.4%	19.3%±4.7Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Bath and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	42.5%Highest ME: 36.2%	29.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.5%±2Highest ME: 5.8%	4.5%±3.2Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Bath and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$69,390±$12kLowest 7% below ME	$70,238±$19kHighest 6% below ME
	Jay and Bath are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$310,900±$30kHighest 5% above ME	$168,600±$27kLowest 43% below ME
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,044±$116Highest 8% below ME	$759±$141Lowest 33% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,847Highest 27% above ME	$2,245Lowest 26% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	51.3%±15.2Highest ME: 48.4%	27.2%±28.8Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Bath and Jay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	12.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	9.8%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	64.3%Lowest ME: 74.3%	82.7%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1938Lowest 39 yrs older than ME	1980Highest 3 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minHighest about the ME average	21 minLowest 13% below ME
Work from home	19.3%±6Highest ME: 15.9%	4.8%±5.9Lowest ME: 15.9%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#31 of 133 in ME	#86 of 133 in ME
School district	RSU 01 - LKRSU	RSU 73
High school in town	Morse High School	Spruce Mountain High School
Students per teacherat that high school	14.8Highest	12.7Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.