Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainBrownfield has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 3% work in Brownfield itself; outside it, Conway draws the most (17%, 9 miles). Employers in Brownfield report 88 jobs for 607 working residents. For jobs and income Brownfield is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (D).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Brownfield in brief
Brownfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 44 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 337 hours of commuting, 146 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (20 to 34 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Brownfield is a place people come home to
There are 88 jobs based in Brownfield, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Brownfield has about 1,200 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Brownfield works one town over
32% of working residents work in a town that borders Brownfield: Conway (17%), Fryeburg (10%) and Denmark (5%). Next door ↓
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; with 607 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Brownfield gets the Jobs & income grade it does
The poverty rate holds Brownfield’s grade up (8.1%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (8.3%) is left out: Brownfield’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Brownfield could be anywhere from D to C+.
About 44 minutes to work from Brownfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 14.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brownfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 667 commuters (the 9% 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.
In and out of Brownfield on a workday
On a workday 587 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 68 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Brownfield on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Brownfield to work: where people go
Where Brownfield clocks in
17% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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 Brownfield’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brownfield, 2013 → 2023: 93 → 88. 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 Brownfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Brownfield to work
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.
In Brownfield, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 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). 5.1% of Brownfield households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brownfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Brownfield is 3,920th among 5,760 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 263 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 543 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 591 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,918 | Buckheart Township IL | 1,675 | $61K | 13.7% | 2.7% | 3% | C− |
| 3,919 | Damariscotta ME | 2,296 | $59K | 11.9% | 8.3% | 23% | C− |
| 3,920 | Brownfield ME | 1,704 | $61K | 8.1% | 8.3% | 3% | C− |
| 3,921 | Orange Township MI | 1,322 | $70K | 11.2% | 1.7% | 1% | C− |
| 3,922 | Mayfield Township MI | 1,841 | $74K | 15.7% | 6.9% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Brownfield, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Bordering towns draw 32% of Brownfield’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brownfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownfield | – | C− | D | 44 min | $60,889 |
| Denmark | 5% | C− | C | 34 min | $64,167 |
| Hiram | under 2% | D | D− | 31 min | $62,813 |
| Fryeburg | 10% | C | B+ | 20 min | $56,076 |
| Porter | under 2% | C− | C− | 32 min | $60,417 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Conway. Darker towns draw more of Brownfield’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 Brownfield: questions
What is the median household income in Brownfield?
$60,889 (±$5,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brownfield?
8.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brownfield?
44 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brownfield work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Conway (17%, 9 mi), Fryeburg (10%, 8 mi), Portland (6%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brownfield walkable?
Brownfield is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brownfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brownfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brownfield
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.