What stands out worked out from the figures below

Cooper has the most kids (16.6% under 18).

Meddybemps has the most expensive homes ($295k 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	Cooper	Meddybemps
People
Population	157Highest	139Lowest
Median age	46.5±9.1Lowest 4% above ME	63.9±4.2Highest 43% above ME
Kids under 18	16.6%±17Highest ME: 18.1%	5%±21.5Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Cooper and Meddybemps are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.9%±14Lowest ME: 22.4%	39.6%±15.4Highest ME: 22.4%
	Meddybemps and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.2%Highest ME: 36.2%	14.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±9.8Lowest ME: 5.8%	5%±10.1Highest ME: 5.8%
	Meddybemps and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$48,750±$15kHighest 35% below ME	$48,000±$13kLowest 36% below ME
	Cooper and Meddybemps are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$212,500±$66kLowest 28% below ME	$295,000±$73kHighest about the ME average
	Meddybemps and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,929Highest 36% below ME	$1,206Lowest 60% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	100%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	20.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	7.2%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	95%Highest ME: 74.3%	87.1%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest same as ME	1982Highest 5 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	44 minHighest 78% above ME	31 minLowest 28% above ME
Work from home	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%	5.4%±7.8Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Meddybemps are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
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.