Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Biddeford has lower unemployment (3.1%) than 68% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 24 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Biddeford B−; getting around on foot earns it A. About one in five work in Biddeford itself; outside it, Portland draws the most (18%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Biddeford, in a few figures
Where Biddeford’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Biddeford is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #73 of 143 in Maine. Job access by car holds Biddeford’s grade up (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (15.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Biddeford could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Who works in Biddeford, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 8,671 residents head out to work, 1,951 work right here, and 8,870 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).
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 trip to work from Biddeford ends
Where Biddeford clocks in
18% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
What work there is in Biddeford: 10,821 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Biddeford, 2013 → 2023: 10,148 → 10,821. 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 Biddeford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Biddeford, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Biddeford workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,929 commuters (the 14% 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.
Miles to work from Biddeford
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.
Biddeford is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Biddeford is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns, #7 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 8.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,737 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). 8.0% of Biddeford households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Biddeford’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Biddeford is 1,052nd of 1,658 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Scarborough ME | 24,547 | $134K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 191 | Windham ME | 19,912 | $108K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 276 | Gorham ME | 19,239 | $112K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,050 | Hopkins MN | 19,523 | $75K | 12.1% | 6.4% | 6% | B− |
| 1,051 | Bryn Mawr-Skyway WA | 17,638 | $91K | 13.3% | 7.9% | 1% | B− |
| 1,052 | Biddeford ME | 22,399 | $72K | 15.5% | 3.1% | 18% | B− |
| 1,053 | Goodlettsville TN | 17,506 | $71K | 9.7% | 6.1% | 8% | B− |
| 1,054 | Ives Estates FL | 28,506 | $72K | 11.9% | 5.8% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | 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 Biddeford, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Biddeford
The biggest share goes to Saco (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Biddeford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biddeford | – | B− | A | 24 min | $72,333 |
| Saco | 8% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,241 |
| Kennebunkport | under 2% | A− | B− | 34 min | $102,747 |
| Dayton | under 2% | A | C | 31 min | $113,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Biddeford’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 Biddeford: questions
What is the median household income in Biddeford?
$72,333 (±$4,175) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Biddeford?
15.5%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Biddeford?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Biddeford work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (18%, 17 mi), Saco (8%, 6 mi), South Portland (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Biddeford walkable?
Biddeford is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Biddeford without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Biddeford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Biddeford
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.