Bar Harbor is a town of 5,060 in Hancock County, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Bangor · Updated November 2026
Is Bar Harbor, ME safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Bar Harbor: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 93% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Bar Harbor grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 968 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
93% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Bar Harbor as a whole, and 7% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Bar Harbor scores 968.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Bar Harbor, ME at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bar Harbor, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
Crime rates and types in Bar Harbor
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bar Harbor has about 17 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 54% less than the US as a whole and 31% less than Maine.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Bar Harbor, about 38% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Stores and businesses (28%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Bar Harbor compares with nearby cities
Bar Harbor has less crime than 1 of its 2 nearest cities; only Mount Desert has less.
Two things set Bar Harbor apart: it has 57.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 89 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.57.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.89 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 94% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 74% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 67% of US city residents
Show all 6
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.29% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.9.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Bar Harbor: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Bar Harbor
Crime costs Bar Harbor about $366 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 70% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $2.6 million a year, or $520 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$160,000
$31
Rape
$130,000
$26
Robbery
$12,000
$2
Assault
$210,000
$42
Burglary
$23,000
$4
Theft
$170,000
$33
Vehicle theft
$48,000
$10
Arson
$12,000
$2
Vandalism
$130,000
$26
Total
$890,000
$176
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Bar Harbor means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Bar Harbor is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Bar Harbor, ME average a SchoolGrade of A: 90% of students test proficient, against 78% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Bar Harbor on SchoolGrade
