Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Maine
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Maine ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aroostook County | 40.7" | Relatively Low | $131,700 |
| 2 | Kennebec County | 41.8" | Relatively Low | $219,900 |
| 3 | Piscataquis County | 42.6" | Relatively Low | $153,300 |
| 4 | Franklin County | 42.6" | Relatively Low | $176,700 |
| 5 | Penobscot County | 44.3" | Relatively Low | $193,800 |
| 6 | Somerset County | 44.5" | Relatively Low | $155,200 |
| 7 | Androscoggin County | 45.2" | Relatively Low | $232,000 |
| 8 | Oxford County | 47.2" | Relatively Low | $192,300 |
| 9 | Knox County | 47.6" | Very Low | $290,800 |
| 10 | Cumberland County | 48.1" | Relatively Low | $411,400 |
| 11 | Sagadahoc County | 48.5" | Very Low | $300,200 |
| 12 | Waldo County | 48.8" | Very Low | $239,100 |
| 13 | Lincoln County | 49.3" | Very Low | $306,200 |
| 14 | Washington County | 49.4" | Relatively Low | $147,100 |
| 15 | Hancock County | 49.4" | Relatively Low | $278,400 |
| 16 | York County | 51.3" | Relatively Moderate | $357,200 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Maine