Alton, Maine

Town in Penobscot County · population 829 (2020 Census)

Median home: $179,500
Household income: $62,955
Jan low / Jul high: 6° / 79°
Snow a year: 78 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 1
Median age: 49.1

Alton is a town of 829 people in Penobscot County, Maine. The median home is worth $179,500, below the typical Maine town ($238,950). It ranks quieter than 73% of Maine towns.

How Alton ranks

Percentile among Maine towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Maine towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

The median home in Alton is worth $179,500, below the typical Maine town ($238,950). Homes cost about 2.9 times the median household income of $62,955, which is more affordable than 71% of Maine towns. Median rent is $866 a month. 83.5% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Maine towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Alton	Typical Maine town
Median home value	$179,500	$238,950
Median rent	$866	$1,027
Median household income	$62,955	$68,967
Home value ÷ income	2.9×	3.4×
Homeownership	83.5%	82.4%
Median year built	1988	1978
Seasonal / vacation homes	1.6%	—

Who lives in Alton

People	Alton	Typical Maine town
Median age	49.1	46.9
Age 65 and over	21.7%	22.9%
Under 18	18.1%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.2%	28.2%
Below the poverty line	24.3%	10.7%
Veterans	6.4%	—
Born outside the U.S.	1.3%	—
Work from home	15.3%	12.3%
Average commute	24.9 min	25.5 min
Homes with broadband	91.2%	90.0%

Weather in Alton

July highs average 79.1°F and January lows 6.4°F. About 44.4 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 78.0 inches of snow (typical Maine town: 77.2 in). Expect about 2 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 173 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Old Town 2 W station (8.8 mi away); snowfall estimated from the 4 nearest snow stations, weighted by distance.

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

1 tornado has passed within 10 miles of Alton since 1950, compared with 2 for the typical Maine town. 1 rated (E)F2 or stronger. The strongest, an F2, struck on August 16, 1959 about 8.5 miles from the town center. The most recent was on August 16, 1959.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 7 times; the largest was 1.50 inches on July 28, 2015.

Severe weather in Penobscot County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Penobscot County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 1 deaths recorded.

Penobscot County has been included in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for flood, freezing, hurricane.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
January 30, 2024	Severe Storm	DR-4754: Severe Storm And Flooding
September 14, 2023	Hurricane	EM-3598: Hurricane Lee
April 4, 2020	Biological	DR-4522: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3444: Covid-19
January 2, 2018	Severe Storm	DR-4354: Severe Storm And Flooding

Jobs and pay in Penobscot County

Penobscot County had 71,983 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $55,593 a year. Unemployment was 3.1% in 2023; in Alton itself the ACS puts it at 0.6%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Alton

1 public school with 57 students, about 7.1 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
Alton Elementary School	PK-3	57	7.1

Towns near Alton

Old Town, ME
6.4 mi · 7,431 people · home $208,100
Hudson, ME
6.6 mi · 1,416 people · home $157,300
Bradford, ME
7.2 mi · 1,184 people · home $176,200
Lagrange, ME
8.7 mi · 635 people · home $126,000
Milford, ME
9.2 mi · 2,211 people · home $154,900
Greenbush, ME
9.2 mi · 1,444 people · home $131,000
Milford, ME
10.3 mi · 3,069 people · home $176,400
Glenburn, ME
11.0 mi · 4,648 people · home $276,900

Alton questions

Is Alton, Maine a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Alton scores better for retirees than 39% of Maine towns and quieter than 73%. 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (median age 49.1).

How much does a house cost in Alton?

The median owner-occupied home in Alton is valued at $179,500 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $62,955, so homes cost about 2.9 times income. Median rent is $866 a month.

What is the weather like in Alton?

July highs average 79.1°F and January lows 6.4°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 44.4 inches of precipitation a year and 78.0 inches of snow.

Does Alton get tornadoes?

1 tornado has passed within 10 miles of Alton since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was a F2 on August 16, 1959. The typical Maine town has had 2.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Alton's Census boundary (GEOID 2301901115). Comparisons use the median of Maine towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.