Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0At 0.8%, unemployment in Boothbay is lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Boothbay itself; outside it, Boothbay Harbor draws the most (23%, 7 miles). The two grades for Boothbay are B− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Home is the office for 6% of workers, next to 16% for Maine as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Boothbay apart
Commutes from Boothbay are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine worker. Time on the road ↓
Boothbay trades workers with the towns around it
Boothbay has about as many jobs (899) as working residents (1,037), but they are mostly different people: 771 residents leave for work each day while 633 people come in. Only 30% of the jobs in Boothbay are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Boothbay has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Boothbay went from 595 in 2013 to 899 in 2023, +51%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Boothbay
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Boothbay is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #80 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Boothbay’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Boothbay could be anywhere from C to B+.
Commuting from Boothbay: about 13 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Boothbay workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,458 commuters (the 6% 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.
Boothbay on a workday afternoon
On a workday 771 residents head out to work, 266 work right here, and 633 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 (0.87 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.
Boothbay makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
899 jobs are based in Boothbay.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Boothbay, 2013 → 2023: 595 → 899. 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 Boothbay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Boothbay to work: where people go
Where Boothbay clocks in
23% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Boothbay
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.
Most trips from Boothbay start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Boothbay is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #56 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 6.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,546 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). 3.1% of Boothbay households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Boothbay’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Boothbay comes 2,216th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 784 | Limington ME | 4,173 | $85K | 3.4% | 0.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 940 | Orrington ME | 3,912 | $95K | 6.6% | 1.7% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,016 | Kennebunkport ME | 3,717 | $103K | 4.6% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,214 | Tullytown PA | 2,228 | $65K | 13.6% | 4.7% | 4% | B− |
| 2,215 | Windsor VA | 2,947 | $69K | 11.7% | 3.6% | 7% | B− |
| 2,216 | Boothbay ME | 3,155 | $60K | 6.8% | 0.8% | 26% | B− |
| 2,217 | Filer Township MI | 2,289 | $75K | 3.8% | 3.8% | 7% | B− |
| 2,218 | Muncy Creek Township PA | 3,563 | $76K | 4.1% | 7.4% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Boothbay, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Boothbay and its neighbors: 25% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Boothbay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boothbay | – | B− | B− | 13 min | $60,320 |
| South Bristol | under 2% | C | B+ | 17 min | $69,211 |
| Boothbay Harbor | 23% | D | A | 14 min | $62,800 |
| Edgecomb | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 22 min | $108,750 |
| Westport Island | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Southport | 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Westport Island and Southport: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Boothbay Harbor. Darker towns draw more of Boothbay’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 Boothbay: questions
What is the median household income in Boothbay?
$60,320 (±$16,642) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Boothbay?
6.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Boothbay?
13 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Boothbay work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boothbay Harbor (23%, 7 mi), Portland (6%, 31 mi), Bath (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Boothbay walkable?
Boothbay is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Boothbay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Boothbay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Boothbay
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.