What stands out worked out from the figures below

Shirley has the youngest population (median age 42).

Whiting has the oldest population (median age 50).

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	Shirley	Whiting
People
Population	234Lowest	506Highest
Median age	42±8.2Lowest 6% below ME	50±5Highest 12% above ME
	Whiting and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.2%±9.2Lowest ME: 18.1%	17.8%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%
	Whiting and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	26.5%±10.1Lowest ME: 22.4%	27.5%±6.1Highest ME: 22.4%
	Whiting and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.6%Lowest ME: 36.2%	34.9%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.3%±5.1Highest ME: 5.8%	2.8%±1.8Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Shirley and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$61,875±$22kHighest 17% below ME	$55,263±$2kLowest 26% below ME
	Shirley and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$219,600±$36kHighest 26% below ME	$214,200±$52kLowest 28% below ME
	Shirley and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$600±$333 47% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,522Highest 17% below ME	$1,728Lowest 43% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	33.3%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	17%Highest ME: 10.7%	5.3%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	99%Highest ME: 74.3%	93.6%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1984Highest 7 yrs newer than ME	1981Lowest 4 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	21 minLowest 17% below ME	22 minHighest 10% below ME
Work from home	5.3%±4.9Highest ME: 15.9%	5.1%±2.8Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Shirley and Whiting are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	—	Whiting Public Schools
High school in town	—	None in town
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.