State profile · ME · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Maine

Federal Clery Act filings for all 33 tracked Maine campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Southern Maine Community College currently has the lowest rate.

33
Institutions tracked
1.60
Avg campus rate / 1k (33 of 33 scored)
1.82
Statewide rate / 1k
#20
Rank by avg campus rate
81,542
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Southern Maine Community College has the lowest rate in Maine

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 33 tracked campuses in Maine, 17 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Southern Maine Community College has the lowest rate at 0.13 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
33
average campus, per 1,000 (33 of 33 scored)
1.60
lowest nonzero rate - Southern Maine Community
0.13
campuses at zero in score categories
17

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet ME · Maine 1.60/1k campus avg · #20/59

RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID

  • RATE-LOW 1.60/1k
  • RANK-UPPER #20/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Montana · ±0.03
  • ZERO-MIX 52% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −0.22
  • BOOK-FULL 33/33
  • CONC-MID top5 51%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Montana (-0.03/1k)

Maine sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID · peer Montana. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Montana (-0.03/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Southern Maine Community College leads at 0.13/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Maine's unweighted average campus rate sits better than 66% of scored U.S. states; inside the state, Southern Maine Community College has the lowest nonzero rate at 0.13/1k, ahead of University of Maine at Presque Isle (0.35/1k); York County Community College (0.53/1k). The five largest campuses still hold 51% of enrolled students, so enrollment weight and campus-average rank can diverge.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Maine

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Maine on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Maine's 1.60/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Maine, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 16 Maine campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Positions are numbered within that group, because a rank counted through the zero-score campuses below would order them by nothing.

13
Bates College Lewiston · 1,760 students
Enrollment
1,760
Incidents /1k
6.25
15
Bowdoin College Brunswick · 1,881 students
Enrollment
1,881
Incidents /1k
6.91
16
Colby College Waterville · 2,412 students
Enrollment
2,412
Incidents /1k
9.12
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Southern Maine Community College South Portland · 7,900 students 7,900 0.13 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle · 2,873 students 2,873 0.35 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 York County Community College Wells · 1,875 students 1,875 0.53 6% of the leader · rank #3
4 Eastern Maine Community College Bangor · 2,719 students 2,719 1.47 16% of the leader · rank #4
5 Central Maine Community College Auburn · 4,754 students 4,754 1.47 16% of the leader · rank #5
6 University of New England Biddeford · 6,573 students 6,573 1.52 17% of the leader · rank #6
7 University of Maine Orono · 12,029 students 12,029 2.08 23% of the leader · rank #7
8 Husson University Bangor · 3,367 students 3,367 2.08 23% of the leader · rank #8
9 College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor · 358 students 358 2.79 31% of the leader · rank #9
10 University of Southern Maine Portland · 7,604 students 7,604 3.02 33% of the leader · rank #10
11 Saint Joseph's College of Maine Standish · 1,454 students 1,454 4.13 45% of the leader · rank #11
12 Maine College of Art & Design Portland · 475 students 475 4.21 46% of the leader · rank #12
13 Bates College Lewiston · 1,760 students 1,760 6.25 69% of the leader · rank #13
14 University of Maine at Farmington Farmington · 2,100 students 2,100 6.67 73% of the leader · rank #14
15 Bowdoin College Brunswick · 1,881 students 1,881 6.91 76% of the leader · rank #15
16 Colby College Waterville · 2,412 students 2,412 9.12 100% of the leader · rank #16

Unranked campuses (17): zero score or no normalized rate

17 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 2 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

Thomas College Waterville · 1,635 students
Enrollment
1,635
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
Beal University Bangor · 504 students 504 0.00
Capilo School of Hair Design Augusta · 156 students 156 0.00
Empire Beauty School-Maine Portland · 117 students 117 0.00
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts Portland · 99 students 99 0.00
Kennebec Valley Community College Fairfield · 2,489 students 2,489 0.00
Maine College of Health Professions Lewiston · 239 students 239 0.00
Maine Maritime Academy Castine · 971 students 971 0.00
Maine Media College Rockport · 42 students 42 0.00
Northeast Technical Institute Scarborough · 74 students 74 0.00
Northern Maine Community College Presque Isle · 843 students 843 0.00
Spa Tech Institute-Westbrook Westbrook · 263 students 263 0.00
The Landing School Arundel · 32 students 32 0.00
Thomas College Waterville · 1,635 students 1,635 0.00
Unity Environmental University New Gloucester · 7,165 students 7,165 0.00
University of Maine at Augusta Augusta · 4,412 students 4,412 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Maine by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: University of Maine (12,029); Southern Maine Community College (7,900); University of Southern Maine (7,604), then 30 more. The 15 biggest Maine institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 51% of the 81,542 students enrolled across all 33 tracked Maine institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Thomas College (1,635 students, 0.00/1k).

12
Colby College Waterville · 2,412 students
Enrollment
2,412
Incidents /1k
9.12
14
Bowdoin College Brunswick · 1,881 students
Enrollment
1,881
Incidents /1k
6.91
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Maine Orono · 12,029 students 12,029 100% of the leader · rank #1 2.08
2 Southern Maine Community College South Portland · 7,900 students 7,900 66% of the leader · rank #2 0.13
3 University of Southern Maine Portland · 7,604 students 7,604 63% of the leader · rank #3 3.02
4 Unity Environmental University New Gloucester · 7,165 students 7,165 60% of the leader · rank #4 0.00
5 University of New England Biddeford · 6,573 students 6,573 55% of the leader · rank #5 1.52
6 Central Maine Community College Auburn · 4,754 students 4,754 40% of the leader · rank #6 1.47
7 University of Maine at Augusta Augusta · 4,412 students 4,412 37% of the leader · rank #7 0.00
8 Husson University Bangor · 3,367 students 3,367 28% of the leader · rank #8 2.08
9 University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle · 2,873 students 2,873 24% of the leader · rank #9 0.35
10 Eastern Maine Community College Bangor · 2,719 students 2,719 23% of the leader · rank #10 1.47
11 Kennebec Valley Community College Fairfield · 2,489 students 2,489 21% of the leader · rank #11 0.00
12 Colby College Waterville · 2,412 students 2,412 20% of the leader · rank #12 9.12
13 University of Maine at Farmington Farmington · 2,100 students 2,100 17% of the leader · rank #13 6.67
14 Bowdoin College Brunswick · 1,881 students 1,881 16% of the leader · rank #14 6.91
15 York County Community College Wells · 1,875 students 1,875 16% of the leader · rank #15 0.53

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Maine: closest on tracked campus count (33 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (1.60/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Montana sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.03/1k). Inside Maine, open Southern Maine Community College's campus sheet next.

Southern Maine Community College profile → | All states → | Maine net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Maine campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Maine?

Among Maine campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Southern Maine Community College has the lowest rate (0.13 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: University of Maine at Presque Isle (0.35/1k); York County Community College (0.53/1k). 17 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Maine?

In Maine, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Southern Maine Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.13/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Maine are compared?

This page covers 33 tracked higher-education institutions in Maine, serving about 81,542 enrolled students combined across 24 cities. 16 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 17 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are University of Maine (12,029); Southern Maine Community College (7,900); University of Southern Maine (7,604). Nearby state averages for context: Montana (1.57/1k); Oklahoma (1.64/1k); Georgia (1.66/1k); U.S. Virgin Islands (1.67/1k); Alabama (1.70/1k); Connecticut (1.48/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.