Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Bowdoin (0.9%) than in 95% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute lasts 32 minutes, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. Bowdoin grades B+ for jobs and income and D− for walkability. Only 3% stay in Bowdoin for work; outside it, Bath is the main destination (9%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Bowdoin in brief
Bowdoin makes and builds things
53% of the jobs based in Bowdoin are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Bowdoin residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 22%. The jobs ↓
Bowdoin is a place people come home to
There are 306 jobs based in Bowdoin, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Bowdoin has about 2,100 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Bowdoin workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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.
Inside Bowdoin’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bowdoin is better than 68% of U.S. towns, #45 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Bowdoin’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bowdoin could be anywhere from B− to A.
Making and building: 53% of jobs based in Bowdoin
306 jobs are based in Bowdoin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bowdoin, 2013 → 2023: 212 → 306. 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 Bowdoin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Bowdoin
On a workday 1,436 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 256 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Bowdoin on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.21 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 trip to work from Bowdoin: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bowdoin workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,577 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 the trip to work from Bowdoin ends
Where Bowdoin clocks in
9% of workers
9% of workers
9% 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.
The commute from Bowdoin, by distance
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 Bowdoin start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bowdoin is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns, #142 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Bowdoin 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 1,786 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). 0.0% of Bowdoin households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bowdoin’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,338th of 4,453: where Bowdoin ranks among U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 764 | Limington ME | 4,173 | $85K | 3.4% | 0.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 915 | Orrington ME | 3,912 | $95K | 6.6% | 1.7% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 987 | Kennebunkport ME | 3,717 | $103K | 4.6% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,336 | Volga SD | 2,458 | $79K | 6.1% | 1.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,337 | West Galena Township IL | 3,143 | $66K | 6.3% | 0.0% | 30% | B+ |
| 1,338 | Bowdoin ME | 3,254 | $91K | 11.0% | 0.9% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,339 | Burns Township MI | 3,268 | $84K | 8.8% | 2.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,340 | Sloan NY | 3,699 | $72K | 14.7% | 2.0% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Bowdoin, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Bowdoin
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bowdoin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoin | – | B+ | D− | 32 min | $91,239 |
| Lisbon | under 3% | A− | C+ | 29 min | $77,819 |
| Lisbon Falls | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Richmond | under 3% | B− | C | 29 min | $65,854 |
| Topsham | 9% | B+ | B− | 24 min | $91,028 |
| Bowdoinham | under 3% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $108,479 |
| Litchfield | under 3% | A− | C | 32 min | $84,904 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lisbon Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Topsham. Darker towns draw more of Bowdoin’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 Bowdoin: questions
What is the median household income in Bowdoin?
$91,239 (±$13,333) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bowdoin?
11.0%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bowdoin?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bowdoin work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bath (9%, 12 mi), Topsham (9%, 8 mi), Brunswick (9%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bowdoin walkable?
Bowdoin is more walkable than 4% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bowdoin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bowdoin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bowdoin
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.