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Cost of living, pay and housing

46.00° N · 68.44° W · GEOID 2357115

Patten

Penobscot County, Maine · part of the Bangor, ME metro

Limited data population under 5,000

MainePatten, MEPattenPatten

The short answer

Patten is home to 607 people. Median household income is $45,750 a year and median rent is $389 a month, 10.2% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $83,000, about 1.8x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$389
72% below the median place
Median household income
$45,750
43% below the median place
Median home value
$83,000
74% below the median place
Unemployment
3.6%
26% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Patten

  • Median rent is $389 a month, lower than in 99% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 33 Maine places.
  • The median home is valued at $83,000, less than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 33 Maine places.
  • The median resident is 56.1 years old, older than in 97% of places its size. It is the 3rd-highest of 33 Maine places.
  • Households average 1.93 people, smaller than in 96% of places its size. It is the 3rd-lowest of 33 Maine places.
  • Household income has grown 11.1% a year across the last five survey releases, faster than in 95% of places its size. It is the 3rd-highest of 33 Maine places.
01

Moving to Patten

Penobscot County gains about 3.8 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in5,578
Moved out5,123
Net+455

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Piscataquis County, ME257232+25
Washington County, ME162

Within Maine, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within MaineOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$54K
Leavers$55K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Penobscot County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
5.6% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Penobscot County report $53,900 a year in income on average; those leaving, $54,900.
Income you would need
$15,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $389 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $749 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $83,000.
Getting to work
23 minutes each way on average; 11.3% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Caribou, ME matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
0.0%
below the median place (median 2.0%)
Income of households moving in6
$53,860
24% below the median place
Income of households moving out6
$54,895
22% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure5.6%3% below
Moved from another state10.0%below (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure3.8above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$53,86024% below
Income of households moving out6County figure$54,89522% below
02

What it costs to live here

Median gross rent is $389, 72% below the median place.

Patten10.2%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$15,560
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
10.2%
50% below the median place
Home price to income
1.8x
52% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
10%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$41,200
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Patten, $389 a month, and local prices for everything else (100.4 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Patten.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Patten? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$749
60% below the median place
Median home value1
$83,000
74% below the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$857
74% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$38972% below
Rent to income110.2%50% below
Property tax rate11.0%13% above
Home price to income11.8x52% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure96.54% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,4967% below
Property tax paid (median)1$85774% below
Median home value1$83,00074% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure4.6%44% above
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure68.2%32% above
Homeownership172.4%9% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure50.4%0% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$74960% below
Vacant homes1County figure13.8%96% above
Median year built119551% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Poverty rate1
28.4%
164% above the median place
Median household income1
$45,750
43% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$45,75043% below
Income per person1$25,64736% below
Unemployment1County figure3.6%26% below
Average annual pay5County figure$57,44313% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure3.3%11% below
Jobs5County figure71,78252% below
Poverty rate128.4%164% above
Mean commute1County figure23 min9% below
Works from home1County figure11.3%9% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Household size is 1.9, 23% below the median place.

Household size1
1.9
23% below the median place
Median age1
56.1
44% above the median place
Homes with broadband1
80.8%
12% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

No health insurance10.0% +56%
High school or higher93.2% +1%
Bachelor's or higher30.6% −4%
All 8 people measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population16076646th largest
Median age156.144% above
Bachelor's or higher130.6%4% below
High school or higher193.2%1% above
Household size11.923% below
Born abroad1County figure3.4%62% below
No health insurance110.0%56% above
Homes with broadband180.8%12% below
05

Life in Patten

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Bradford Farm Historic District listed 2003

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars17.9 −14%
Shops43.3 +43%
Arts, recreation and fitness4.3 +5%
Doctors' offices and clinics20.5 +1%
Child care centers4.8 2.1×

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Child care centers per 10k7
4.8
109% above the median place
Shops per 10k7
43.3
43% above the median place
Students per teacher9
12.1
21% below the median place
All 9 schools and local life measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools9County figure66above (median 9)
Public school students9County figure18,514278% above
Students per teacher9County figure12.121% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure17.914% below
Shops per 10k7County figure43.343% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure4.35% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure20.51% above
Child care centers per 10k7County figure4.8109% above
National Register listings8192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Average temperature is 43°F, 22% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Patten. Larger places are fetched first.

Average temperature10
43°F
22% below the median place
January average low10
6°F
75% below the median place
July average high10
79°F
9% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasurePattenAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high10County figure79°F9% below
January average low10County figure6°F75% below
Average temperature10County figure43°F22% below
Annual precipitation10County figure44.1 in1% above
Natural hazard risk11County figure78.016% below
Hurricane risk11County figure86.723% above
Tornado risk11County figure32.360% below
Wildfire risk11County figure29.352% below
Heat wave risk11County figure36.160% below
Median air quality index12County figure3323% below
Good air days12County figure84.2%23% above
08

Patten in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 10% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 10% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$389/mo (2024)$500/mo$410 to $610/mo+4.4%
Median household income$45,750 (2024)$60,500$51,000 to $71,500+4.8%
Median home value$83,000 (2024)$124,000$90,000 to $171,000+6.9%

The median home would be worth 2.0 years of the median income in 2030, against 1.8 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Patten

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Caribou, ME$757$53,709Compare
Columbiana, OH$702$54,688Compare
Swoyersville, PA$744$71,555Compare
Benson, AZ$783$49,346Compare
Benson, AZSwoyersville, PAColumbiana, OHCaribou, MEPatten, MEPattenColumbianaSwoyersvilleBensonPattenColumbianaSwoyersvilleBenson

Common questions

Is Patten a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Median rent is $389 a month, lower than in 99% of the 2,480 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 33 Maine places. The median home is valued at $83,000, less than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 33 Maine places. On cost, space and class size it scores 59 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Patten expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 10.2% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $83,000.

What salary do you need to live in Patten?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $15,560 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Patten?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Caribou, ME, Columbiana, OH, Swoyersville, PA and Benson, AZ.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  9. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  10. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  11. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  12. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Patten with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Patten itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/patten-maine

Citytistics. “Patten, Maine.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/patten-maine/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.