What stands out worked out from the figures below

Perham has the most expensive homes ($118k median).

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

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	Perham	Patten
People
Population	326Lowest	607Highest
Median age	53±12.9Lowest 18% above ME	56.1±5.8Highest 25% 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	19.6%±8.5Highest ME: 18.1%	16.5%±4.8Lowest 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+	24.5%±2.3Lowest ME: 22.4%	32.9%±5.6Highest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	18.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.5%±1.9Highest ME: 5.8%	1.6%±2.7Lowest 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	$62,500±$22kHighest 16% below ME	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% 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	$117,600±$9kHighest 60% below ME	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% 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	$1,641Highest 46% below ME	$857Lowest 72% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	33.3%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%	56%±58.6Highest 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	2.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.5%Highest ME: 74.3%	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1976Highest 1 yr older than ME	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minHighest about the ME average	25 minLowest about the ME average
Work from home	8.4%±7.2Lowest ME: 15.9%	24.3%±24.5Highest 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.