Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Amherst

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Amherst MEPhoto: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Amherst

With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Amherst works elsewhere

Employers in Amherst report 25 jobs for 104 working residents. Only 2% work in Amherst; the top destination outside it is Ellsworth (26%, 20 miles). Commuters spend 27 minutes getting to work on average, next to 25 for Maine and 26 for the U.S.

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

25 jobs based here
Household income
$73K
median · Maine $75K
Poverty
6.1%
Maine 10.7%
Unemployment
1.5%
Maine 3.8% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
27 min
Maine 25 · U.S. 26
Work in town
2%
2 of 104 working residents
Work from home
11%
Maine 16% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Amherst

On a workday 102 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 23 people come in from elsewhere.

102live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
23work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night270
Workday190
270live here− 100head out to work+ 23come in to work= 190on a workday

About 190 people are in Amherst on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.24jobs 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

The places Amherst commutes to

South PortlandBrewer: 3 residents work here (3%)Bangor: 11 residents work here (11%)Augusta: 7 residents work here (7%)Ellsworth: 27 residents work here (26%)GouldsboroMercerHancock: 3 residents work here (3%)MariavilleMachiasBar Harbor: 8 residents work here (8%)BradleyLamoine: 3 residents work here (3%)Waltham: 3 residents work here (3%)AuroraAmherstTrenton: 3 residents work here (3%)Mount Desert: 3 residents work here (3%)HoldenEllsworthBangorBar HarborAugustaBrewerHancockAmherst
1
Ellsworth20.2 mi away
26%27
2
Bangor19.2 mi away
11%11
3
Bar Harbor33.3 mi away
8%8
4
Augusta75.3 mi away
7%7
5
Brewer17.4 mi away
3%3
6
Hancock24.4 mi away
3%3
7
Lamoine26.4 mi away
3%3
8
Waltham14.9 mi away
3%3
9
Trenton27.9 mi away
3%3
10
Mount Desert37.2 mi away
3%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%33
The top trips

Where Amherst clocks in

26% of workers
20.2 mi awayEllsworth27 Amherst residents work here · Jobs & commute →
11% of workers
19.2 mi awayBangor11 Amherst residents work here · Jobs & commute →
8% of workers
33.3 mi awayBar Harbor8 Amherst 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

Making and building: 68% of jobs based in Amherst

Jobs based in AmherstJobs Amherst residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms68%28%
Trade, transport & utilities32%23%
Services: health, schools, offices0%49%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less4%8%
$1,251–$3,333 a month36%30%
Over $3,333 a month60%63%

Who does it

29 or younger16%20%
30 to 5464%48%
55 and older20%32%
+178%

Jobs based in Amherst, 2013 → 2023: 9 → 25. 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 Amherst’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Time on the road from Amherst: about 27 minutes

A year of commuting
209 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Amherst27 min
Maine25 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
11%

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

About 1 in 10
How Amherst gets to work
88%Drive alone
8%Carpool
4%Other

Share of the 162 commuters (the 11% 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

Short hops and long hauls from Amherst

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miEllsworth: 26% · 20.2 miBangor: 11% · 19.2 miBar Harbor: 8% · 33.3 miAugusta: 7% · 75.3 miBrewer: 3% · 17.4 miHancock: 3% · 24.4 miLamoine: 3% · 26.4 miWaltham: 3% · 14.9 miTrenton: 3% · 27.9 miMount Desert: 3% · 37.2 miEllsworth 26%Bangor 11%Bar Harbor 8%Brewer 3%Amherst
AmherstTop destinations (size = commuters)
9%Under 10 mi9 residents
52%10–24 mi54 residents
22%25–50 mi23 residents
17%Over 50 mi18 residents

About 17% 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

Around Amherst: the bordering towns

Aurora: few work hereBradley: few work hereMariaville: few work hereAuroraBradleyMariavilleAmherst
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Bradley23 min
Amherst27 min
Aurora34 min
Mariaville37 min
Auroraunder 3% of AmherstBradleyunder 3% of AmherstMariavilleunder 3% of Amherst

Jobs & commute next door

TownAmherst workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Amherst–——27 min$72,656
Auroraunder 3%——34 min—
Bradleyunder 3%B−C23 min$76,667
Mariavilleunder 3%——37 min—

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

Darker towns draw more of Amherst’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 Amherst: questions

What is the median household income in Amherst?

$72,656 (±$11,775) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Amherst?

6.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Amherst?

27 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Amherst work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ellsworth (26%, 20 mi), Bangor (11%, 19 mi), Bar Harbor (8%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Amherst without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Amherst

Amherst home →
$210Ktypical home
HousingLive where you work?Home values, rent & the market in Amherst
27min commute
HandbookGetting around AmherstRoads, 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.