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Jobs & commute in Alexander

With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Alexander works elsewhere

Home is the office for 8% of workers; Maine has 16%. Employers in Alexander report 20 jobs, against 180 working residents. Only 2% stay in Alexander for work; outside it, Baileyville is the main destination (27%, 7 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

20 jobs based here
Household income
$94K
median · Maine $75K
Poverty
6.6%
Maine 10.7%
Unemployment
1.0%
Maine 3.8% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
18 min
Maine 25 · U.S. 26
Work in town
2%
3 of 180 working residents
Work from home
8%
Maine 16% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

How a workday changes Alexander

On a workday 177 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.

177live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
17work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night520
Workday360
520live here− 180head out to work+ 17come in to work= 360on a workday

About 360 people are in Alexander on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.11jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Alexander: the destinations

Brewer: 2 residents work here (1%)Portland: 3 residents work here (2%)Bangor: 9 residents work here (5%)Calais: 16 residents work here (9%)Caribou: 10 residents work here (6%)AlexanderMachias: 3 residents work here (2%)PembrokePrinceton: 19 residents work here (11%)PerryGrand Lake Stream plantationBaileyville: 48 residents work here (27%)SwanvilleWhitingCooperCrawfordHoulton: 3 residents work here (2%)BaileyvillePrincetonCalaisCaribouBangorPortlandAlexander
1
Baileyville6.9 mi away
27%48
2
Princeton4.8 mi away
11%19
3
Calais13.2 mi away
9%16
4
Caribou123 mi away
6%10
5
Bangor66.6 mi away
5%9
6
Portland167.3 mi away
2%3
7
Alexander (in town)right here
2%3
8
Machias27 mi away
2%3
9
Houlton75 mi away
2%3
10
Brewer65 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
36%64
The top trips

Where Alexander clocks in

27% of workers
6.9 mi awayBaileyville48 Alexander residents work here · Jobs & commute →
11%Princeton
11% of workers
4.8 mi awayPrinceton19 Alexander residents work here · Jobs & commute →
9% of workers
13.2 mi awayCalais16 Alexander residents work here · Jobs & commute →

Lines 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.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

Jobs based in AlexanderJobs Alexander residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms20%28%
Trade, transport & utilities0%18%
Services: health, schools, offices80%54%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less5%8%
$1,251–$3,333 a month55%33%
Over $3,333 a month40%58%

Who does it

29 or younger40%20%
30 to 5440%49%
55 and older20%31%
−13%

Jobs based in Alexander, 2013 → 2023: 23 → 20. 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 Alexander’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

From Alexander, about 18 minutes to the job

A year of commuting
140 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Alexander18 min
Maine25 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
8%

of Alexander workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Alexander gets to work
90%Drive alone
6%Carpool
4%Walk

Share of the 274 commuters (the 8% 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.

How far

The distance from Alexander to work

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miBaileyville: 27% · 6.9 miPrinceton: 11% · 4.8 miCalais: 9% · 13.2 miCaribou: 6% · 123 miBangor: 5% · 66.6 miPortland: 2% · 167.3 miMachias: 2% · 27 miHoulton: 2% · 75 miBrewer: 1% · 65 miBaileyville 27%Princeton 11%Calais 9%Caribou 6%Bangor 5%Alexander
AlexanderTop destinations (size = commuters)
37%Under 10 mi66 residents
23%10–24 mi41 residents
3%25–50 mi6 residents
37%Over 50 mi67 residents

About 37% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

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.

Next door

Next door is work for 38% of Alexander

Princeton: 11% of workers work hereCrawford: few work hereBaileyville: 27% of workers work hereCooper: few work herePrincetonCrawfordBaileyvilleCooperAlexander
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Baileyville12 min
Alexander18 min
Princeton22 min
Crawford40 min
Cooper44 min
Princeton11% of Alexander works hereCrawfordunder 2% of AlexanderBaileyville27% of Alexander works hereCooperunder 2% of Alexander

Jobs & commute next door

TownAlexander workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Alexander–——18 min$93,750
Princeton11%——22 min—
Crawfordunder 2%——40 min—
Baileyville27%DC+12 min$60,000
Cooperunder 2%——44 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Princeton, Crawford and Cooper: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

The biggest share goes to Baileyville. Darker towns draw more of Alexander’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Alexander: questions

What is the median household income in Alexander?

$93,750 (±$10,102) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Alexander?

6.6%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Alexander?

18 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Alexander work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baileyville (27%, 7 mi), Princeton (11%, 5 mi), Calais (9%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Alexander without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Alexander, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Alexander

Alexander home →
18min commute
HandbookGetting around AlexanderRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in MEShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.