Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Belfast has lower unemployment (0.6%) than 97% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 22 minutes each way (Maine 25, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Belfast B−; getting around on foot earns it A−. About half work in Belfast; the top destination outside it is Bangor (4%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Belfast at work: what stands out
Belfast is where the jobs are
Belfast has 6,094 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 11,000 people are in town, 53% more than the 7,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Belfast draws workers from far and wide
The 6,094 jobs in Belfast are filled from a wide area. Belfast’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 20%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Belfast
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belfast is better than 45% of U.S. towns, #90 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Belfast’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (16.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belfast could be anywhere from C to B.
Belfast on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,299 residents head out to work, 1,091 work right here, and 5,003 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Belfast on a workday afternoon, 53% more than live here.
2.5 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.
The towns that send workers to Belfast
Where Belfast 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.
Jobs in Belfast: what the 6,094 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belfast, 2013 → 2023: 6,110 → 6,094. 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 Belfast’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes to work from Belfast
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belfast workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,254 commuters (the 12% 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.
Where in the region Belfast works
About 16% 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: Belfast
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belfast is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #13 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Belfast near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,560 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). 16.5% of Belfast households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Belfast’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Belfast ranks: 1,965th of 3,167 U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 752 | Gray ME | 8,676 | $95K | 3.5% | 3.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,963 | Belmont NH | 7,408 | $69K | 10.3% | 3.3% | 8% | B− |
| 1,964 | Haiku-Pauwela HI | 9,178 | $101K | 8.3% | 5.7% | 9% | B− |
| 1,965 | Belfast ME | 6,988 | $68K | 16.0% | 0.6% | 46% | B− |
| 1,966 | Kanab UT | 5,332 | $85K | 5.6% | 4.7% | 49% | B− |
| 1,967 | Etowah NC | 7,968 | $73K | 14.4% | 2.8% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Belfast, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Belfast and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Searsport (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belfast workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | – | B− | A− | 22 min | $67,679 |
| Northport | under 2% | C+ | B | 25 min | $73,523 |
| Searsport | 3% | C | C− | 22 min | $64,303 |
| Waldo | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Waldo: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Belfast’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 Belfast: questions
What is the median household income in Belfast?
$67,679 (±$8,925) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belfast?
16.0%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belfast?
22 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belfast work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (4%, 30 mi), Camden (3%, 14 mi), Augusta (3%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belfast walkable?
Belfast is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belfast without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belfast, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belfast
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.