Lincoln School · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Acton commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
271 jobs are based in Acton, against 1,147 working residents. For jobs and income Acton is better than 38% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (C−). Only 6% work in Acton; the top destination outside it is Sanford (18%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Acton in brief
Acton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 115 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Acton and Sanford trade workers both ways
Sanford is the top workplace for Acton residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Acton come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Acton is a place people come home to
There are 271 jobs based in Acton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Acton has about 1,900 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Acton
The poverty rate holds Acton’s grade up (7.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Acton could be anywhere from C− to B+.
A commute of about 40 minutes in Acton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Acton workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 950 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Maine: 84% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The towns that employ Acton’s residents
Where Acton clocks in
18% of workers
7% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How many people are in Acton by day
On a workday 1,081 residents head out to work, 66 work right here, and 205 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Acton on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Acton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Acton, 2013 → 2023: 165 → 271. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Acton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Acton’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Acton is a driving town
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,161 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.5% of Acton households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Acton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700, Acton ranks 2,918th of 4,969 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 298 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 761 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 765 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,916 | Canton SD | 3,001 | $61K | 8.1% | 5.4% | 19% | C+ |
| 2,917 | Clifton TX | 3,523 | $65K | 9.5% | 4.0% | 25% | C+ |
| 2,918 | Acton ME | 2,735 | $79K | 7.8% | 4.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,919 | Pelican WI | 2,840 | $62K | 11.5% | 2.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,920 | Mount Oliver PA | 3,222 | $52K | 15.1% | 5.5% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Acton, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
How Acton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Shapleigh (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Acton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Acton: questions
What is the median household income in Acton?
$78,750 (±$14,603) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Acton?
7.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Acton?
40 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Acton work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sanford (18%, 12 mi), Portland (7%, 38 mi), North Berwick (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Acton walkable?
Acton is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Acton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Acton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Acton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.