Living in Old Town, ME
Penobscot County
Old Town is a real Penobscot County city on the Penobscot River, immediately adjacent to the University of Maine's flagship Orono campus, with a population of 7,431 at the 2020 Census (approximately 7,551 by a 2026 estimate). The city's historic paper-mill identity suffered a real, disclosed setback when ND Paper idled the mill in April 2023, even as Old Town Canoe Company remains real, current, and headquartered in the city as part of Johnson Outdoors' Paddlesports division. Housing runs genuinely affordable -- a median home price of approximately $126,000 (Ownwell) -- though at a genuinely elevated 2.10% effective property tax rate, producing a $2,629 median annual bill. Old Town's own median household income ($51,585) and poverty rate (21.33%) both run materially below Maine's and the national profile, a real, disclosed economic challenge this record does not soften. Indian Island, the sovereign home of the federally recognized Penobscot Nation, sits immediately adjacent to Old Town, connected by a short bridge -- a real, distinct community this record discloses respectfully as separate from Old Town's own population and tax base.
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Penobscot County level this session. Maine's top state income tax rate is 7.15%. See the Maine hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Old Town-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely affordable housing (a $126,000 median home price); real, direct adjacency to the University of Maine's Orono campus and the broader Bangor-area labor market; Old Town Canoe Company's real, continued headquarters presence; a real, historic riverside identity alongside the Penobscot Nation's sovereign Indian Island community.
Cons
A real, disclosed 2023 setback to the city's historic paper-mill economy (ND Paper's mill idling); a genuinely elevated 2.10% effective property tax rate; a median household income ($51,585) and poverty rate (21.33%) both running materially below Maine's and the national profile; and Maine's genuine statewide winter-storm exposure applies.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers prioritizing genuinely affordable housing and university-town adjacency, comfortable with a small, car-dependent Penobscot River city working through a real, disclosed economic transition.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need a low property tax rate or a confirmed, currently operating industrial employment base -- Old Town's own effective tax rate runs genuinely elevated and its historic paper mill sat idle as of this pass's research.
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