What stands out worked out from the figures below

Patten has the most people working from home (24.3%).

Perham has the most expensive homes ($118k 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	Patten	Perham
People
Population	607Highest	326Lowest
Median age	56.1±5.8Highest 25% above ME	53±12.9Lowest 18% above ME
	Patten and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.5%±4.8Lowest ME: 18.1%	19.6%±8.5Highest ME: 18.1%
	Perham and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	32.9%±5.6Highest ME: 22.4%	24.5%±2.3Lowest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%	18.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.6%±2.7Lowest ME: 5.8%	2.5%±1.9Highest ME: 5.8%
	Perham and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% below ME	$62,500±$22kHighest 16% below ME
	Perham and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% below ME	$117,600±$9kHighest 60% below ME
	Perham and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$389±$99 66% below ME	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$857Lowest 72% below ME	$1,641Highest 46% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	56%±58.6Highest ME: 48.4%	33.3%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Patten and Perham are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	2.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%	92.5%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME	1976Highest 1 yr older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest about the ME average	25 minHighest about the ME average
Work from home	24.3%±24.5Highest ME: 15.9%	8.4%±7.2Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Patten and Perham 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.