Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0At 13.0%, unemployment in Bowdoinham is higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Bowdoinham are C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns. Only 3% work in Bowdoinham itself; outside it, Brunswick draws the most (10%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Bowdoinham and work: the main findings
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Bowdoinham
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bowdoinham is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #102 of 143 in Maine. Household income holds Bowdoinham’s grade up ($108,479, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bowdoinham could be anywhere from C− to A.
Who commutes out of Bowdoinham, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,421 residents head out to work, 51 work right here, and 222 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Bowdoinham on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.19 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.
Commuting out of Bowdoinham: the destinations
Where Bowdoinham clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
Goods, not services: 31% of the jobs in Bowdoinham
273 jobs are based in Bowdoinham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bowdoinham, 2013 → 2023: 231 → 273. 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 Bowdoinham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from Bowdoinham
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bowdoinham workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,156 commuters (the 22% 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.
Half of Bowdoinham commutes less than 17 miles
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.
Driving is how Bowdoinham gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bowdoinham is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns, #115 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Bowdoinham 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 1,482 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 Bowdoinham households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bowdoinham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Bowdoinham is 2,940th among 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | 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− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,938 | Wells MN | 2,395 | $60K | 8.7% | 3.4% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,939 | Liberty SC | 3,344 | $42K | 21.5% | 2.1% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,940 | Bowdoinham ME | 3,210 | $108K | 13.5% | 13.0% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,941 | West Hill OH | 2,425 | $40K | 14.5% | 3.7% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,942 | Cuba MO | 3,288 | $46K | 14.0% | 0.6% | 28% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Bowdoinham, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
18% of Bowdoinham works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bowdoinham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoinham | – | C+ | C− | 27 min | $108,479 |
| Topsham | 8% | B+ | B− | 24 min | $91,028 |
| Woolwich | under 4% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $102,175 |
| Richmond | under 4% | B− | C | 29 min | $65,854 |
| Bowdoin | under 4% | B+ | D− | 32 min | $91,239 |
| Bath | 10% | C+ | A | 24 min | $69,390 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bath. Darker towns draw more of Bowdoinham’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 Bowdoinham: questions
What is the median household income in Bowdoinham?
$108,479 (±$20,937) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bowdoinham?
13.5%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bowdoinham?
27 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bowdoinham work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brunswick (10%, 12 mi), Bath (10%, 8 mi), Portland (9%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bowdoinham walkable?
Bowdoinham is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bowdoinham 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 Bowdoinham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bowdoinham
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.