Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Augusta trail those of 90% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Augusta is better than 20% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (A−). 18.2% of residents are in poverty, where Maine as a whole has 10.7%. About two in five work in Augusta itself; outside it, Waterville draws the most (4%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Augusta: the figures worth knowing
Augusta fills up on a workday
Augusta has 28,316 jobs, 3.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 39,000 people are in town, more than double the 19,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Augusta draws workers from far and wide
The 28,316 jobs in Augusta are filled from a wide area. Augusta’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Augusta are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Augusta gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Job access by car holds Augusta’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($47,979, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Augusta could be anywhere from D to C+.
Augusta’s population more than doubles on a workday
On a workday 4,622 residents head out to work, 3,718 work right here, and 24,598 people come in from elsewhere.
About 39,000 people are in Augusta on a workday afternoon, 104% more than live here.
3.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the people who work in Augusta live
Where Augusta clocks in
4% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Augusta’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Augusta workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,170 commuters (the 15% 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.
66% of the jobs in Augusta pay over $3,333 a month
28,316 jobs are based in Augusta.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Augusta, 2013 → 2023: 25,640 → 28,316. 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 Augusta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Augusta’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Augusta
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,450 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). 13.6% of Augusta households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Augusta’s commuters take a bus or train.
Augusta is 1,815th of 2,023 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 208 | Scarborough ME | 24,547 | $134K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 251 | Windham ME | 19,912 | $108K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 339 | Gorham ME | 19,239 | $112K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,813 | Genesee Township MI | 20,266 | $57K | 17.8% | 10.2% | 4% | C− |
| 1,814 | Vincennes IN | 16,378 | $54K | 19.6% | 5.2% | 38% | C− |
| 1,815 | Augusta ME | 19,155 | $48K | 18.2% | 5.7% | 45% | C− |
| 1,816 | Adrian MI | 20,191 | $50K | 20.3% | 5.3% | 25% | C− |
| 1,817 | Thompson NY | 16,722 | $65K | 21.6% | 5.7% | 33% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Augusta, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns around Augusta
The biggest share goes to Chelsea (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Augusta workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta | – | C− | A− | 19 min | $47,979 |
| Manchester | under 2% | B+ | C | 20 min | $92,031 |
| Hallowell | under 2% | B+ | A | 14 min | $68,398 |
| Chelsea | 3% | B | C+ | 36 min | $85,471 |
| Sidney | under 2% | B− | D | 25 min | $83,488 |
| Vassalboro | under 2% | C | D | 31 min | $72,300 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Augusta’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 Augusta: questions
What is the median household income in Augusta?
$47,979 (±$3,432) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Augusta?
18.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Augusta?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Augusta work?
45% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waterville (4%, 15 mi), Chelsea (3%, 5 mi), Portland (3%, 53 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Augusta walkable?
Augusta is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Augusta without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Augusta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Augusta
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.