What is the median rent in Southwest Harbor, ME?

Name: Median rent in Southwest Harbor, ME, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Southwest Harbor, ME is $959 (±$50) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 262 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Southwest Harbor, the median gross rent went from $525 in 2015–2019 to $959 in 2020–2024 (+82.7%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $959 (±$50)
Rented homes: 262 (±88)
$2,000 or more: 0.0%
Since 2015–2019: +82.7%

How much rent costs in Southwest Harbor

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Southwest Harbor	Hancock County	Maine	United States
Less than $500	12.6% (±11.3 points)	7.7%	12.2%	6.3%
$500 to $999	50.0% (±19.7 points)	37.6%	27.4%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	26.0% (±16.9 points)	36.9%	31.6%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	11.5% (±10.9 points)	10.2%	16.4%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	0.0% (±10.0 points)	5.2%	7.1%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	0.0% (±10.0 points)	1.8%	2.9%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	0.0% (±10.0 points)	0.5%	2.3%	6.8%

The most common range is $500 to $999, paid by 50.0% of renting households.

0.0% of rented homes in Southwest Harbor cost $2,000 or more a month.

Southwest Harbor against Hancock County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Southwest Harbor	Hancock County	Maine	United States
Median gross rent	$959 (±$50)	$1,061 (±$71)	$1,139 (±$13)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	262 (±88)	4,916 (±471)	142,202 (±2,328)	42,849,984

In Southwest Harbor, median gross rent is lower than in Hancock County ($1,061).

It is also lower than in Maine ($1,139).

It is lower than the national figure ($1,413).

In Hancock County, Southwest Harbor ranks 25 of 32 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 211 of 355.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Southwest Harbor has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$525 (±$373)	$959 (±$50)	+82.7%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	32.4% (±8.8 points)	44.3% (±9.8 points)	+11.9 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	0.0% (±10.0 points)	13.8% (±9.8 points)	+13.8 percentage points	Not a measurable change

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Southwest Harbor

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Southwest Harbor
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Southwest Harbor	—	$959 (±$50)	—
Cranberry Isles	4.3 mi	$1,000 (±$413)	Not measurably different
Mount Desert	5.3 mi	$1,341 (±$89)	Higher
Tremont	7.2 mi	$1,217 (±$406)	Not measurably different
Bar Harbor (community)	9.9 mi	$1,070 (±$369)	Not measurably different
Bar Harbor	10.0 mi	$1,106 (±$351)	Not measurably different
Winter Harbor	11 mi	$818 (±$433)	Not measurably different
Swans Island	11 mi	$2,125 (±$556)	Higher
Brooklin	12 mi	$1,236 (±$137)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Mount Desert, ME ($1,341), Swans Island, ME ($2,125), Brooklin, ME ($1,236).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Hancock County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
19	Trenton	$1,102 (±$241)
20	Sedgwick	$1,048 (±$770)
21	Blue Hill	$1,038 (±$638)
22	Ellsworth	$1,017 (±$195)
23	Cranberry Isles	$1,000 (±$413)
24	Surry	$969 (±$129)
25	Southwest Harbor	$959 (±$50)
26	Franklin	$888 (±$306)
27	Sullivan	$883 (±$114)
28	Bucksport	$882 (±$92)
29	Waltham	$850 (±$567)
30 (tie)	Eastbrook	$823 (±$109)
30 (tie)	Stonington	$823 (±$172)

Showing 13 of 32 places in Hancock County, ranked from highest to lowest.

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Southwest Harbor

What is the average rent in Southwest Harbor, ME?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Southwest Harbor is $959 (±$50) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Southwest Harbor?

In Southwest Harbor, the median gross rent went from $525 in 2015–2019 to $959 in 2020–2024 (+82.7%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Southwest Harbor cost more than $2,000 a month?

0.0% of rented homes in Southwest Harbor have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 12.6% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Southwest Harbor higher than in Hancock County?

In Southwest Harbor, median gross rent is lower than in Hancock County ($1,061).

It is also lower than in Maine ($1,139).

It is lower than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Southwest Harbor town, Hancock County, Maine (county subdivision:72865, in state:23 county:009).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

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

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.