Charleston, Maine

Town in Penobscot County · population 1,551 (2020 Census)

Median home: $226,500
Household income: $75,250
Jan low / Jul high: 3° / 80°
Snow a year: 83 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 2
Median age: 45.4

Charleston is a town of 1,551 people in Penobscot County, Maine. The median home is worth $226,500, below the typical Maine town ($238,950). It ranks easier by car than 78% of Maine towns.

How Charleston 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 Charleston is worth $226,500, below the typical Maine town ($238,950). Homes cost about 3.0 times the median household income of $75,250, which is more affordable than 67% of Maine towns. Median rent is $988 a month. 92.1% of households own their home.

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

Housing	Charleston	Typical Maine town
Median home value	$226,500	$238,950
Median rent	$988	$1,027
Median household income	$75,250	$68,967
Home value ÷ income	3.0×	3.4×
Homeownership	92.1%	82.4%
Median year built	1982	1978
Seasonal / vacation homes	3.5%	—

Who lives in Charleston

People	Charleston	Typical Maine town
Median age	45.4	46.9
Age 65 and over	11.5%	22.9%
Under 18	19.4%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.1%	28.2%
Below the poverty line	6.4%	10.7%
Veterans	5.3%	—
Born outside the U.S.	3.0%	—
Work from home	16.6%	12.3%
Average commute	25.9 min	25.5 min
Homes with broadband	87.6%	90.0%

Weather in Charleston

July highs average 79.8°F and January lows 3.4°F. About 44.7 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 83.4 inches of snow (typical Maine town: 77.2 in). Expect about 3 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 188 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 Dover-Foxcroft Wwtp station (10.6 mi away); snowfall estimated from the 4 nearest snow stations, weighted by distance.

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

2 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Charleston since 1950, compared with 2 for the typical Maine town. The strongest, an F1, struck on June 28, 1991 about 7.8 miles from the town center. The most recent was on August 27, 1997.

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 4 times; the largest was 1.50 inches on August 13, 2023.

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 Charleston itself the ACS puts it at 1.6%.

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).

Towns near Charleston

Bradford, ME
6.1 mi · 1,184 people · home $176,200
Garland, ME
6.2 mi · 1,026 people · home $205,400
Corinth, ME
6.8 mi · 2,900 people · home $135,800
Hudson, ME
9.1 mi · 1,416 people · home $157,300
Exeter, ME
9.1 mi · 963 people · home $166,700
Dover-Foxcroft, ME
10.5 mi · 4,422 people · home $162,600
Sebec, ME
12.0 mi · 665 people · home $233,000
Kenduskeag, ME
12.3 mi · 1,346 people · home $177,900

Charleston questions

Is Charleston, Maine a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Charleston scores better for retirees than 8% of Maine towns and quieter than 46%. 11.5% of residents are 65 or older (median age 45.4).

How much does a house cost in Charleston?

The median owner-occupied home in Charleston is valued at $226,500 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $75,250, so homes cost about 3.0 times income. Median rent is $988 a month.

What is the weather like in Charleston?

July highs average 79.8°F and January lows 3.4°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 44.7 inches of precipitation a year and 83.4 inches of snow.

Does Charleston get tornadoes?

2 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Charleston since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was a F1 on June 28, 1991. The typical Maine town has had 2.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Charleston's Census boundary (GEOID 2301912105). 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.