Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Buckfield has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Buckfield report 205 jobs, against 996 working residents. Jobs and income earn Buckfield B−; getting around on foot earns it D−. Only 5% work in Buckfield itself; outside it, Lewiston draws the most (15%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Buckfield at work: what stands out
Buckfield is a place people come home to
There are 205 jobs based in Buckfield, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Buckfield has about 1,300 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Buckfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 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; with 996 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Buckfield: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buckfield is better than 54% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Buckfield’s grade up (5.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Buckfield could be anywhere from C− to A.
Buckfield quiets down on a workday
On a workday 948 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 157 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Buckfield on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
Buckfield’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buckfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 938 commuters (the 16% 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 Buckfield ends
Where Buckfield clocks in
15% of workers
13% of workers
5% 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.
36% of the jobs in Buckfield make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buckfield, 2013 → 2023: 148 → 205. 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 Buckfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Buckfield
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 Buckfield, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,112 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). 6.6% of Buckfield households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buckfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900, Buckfield ranks 2,032nd of 5,404 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 285 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 587 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 639 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,030 | Dakota City NE | 2,080 | $77K | 7.3% | 5.4% | 4% | B− |
| 2,031 | Mechanicsburg Township IL | 2,233 | $74K | 11.7% | 2.6% | 4% | B− |
| 2,032 | Buckfield ME | 2,114 | $78K | 5.8% | 4.0% | 5% | B− |
| 2,033 | Stockbridge NY | 1,961 | $76K | 9.3% | 2.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,034 | Lincoln WI | 2,737 | $78K | 7.9% | 1.8% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Buckfield, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Bordering towns draw 11% of Buckfield’s workers
The biggest share goes to Hebron (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buckfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckfield | – | B− | D− | 31 min | $77,917 |
| Sumner | under 3% | C | C+ | 42 min | $57,750 |
| Hartford | under 3% | C+ | D− | 41 min | $87,115 |
| Hebron | 4% | B− | B | 31 min | $92,550 |
| Paris | 4% | B− | B− | 22 min | $75,137 |
| Turner | 3% | B+ | C | 25 min | $100,036 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buckfield’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 Buckfield: questions
What is the median household income in Buckfield?
$77,917 (±$41,493) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buckfield?
5.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buckfield?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buckfield work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lewiston (15%, 15 mi), Auburn (13%, 14 mi), Portland (5%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Buckfield walkable?
Buckfield is more walkable than 5% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buckfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buckfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buckfield
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.