Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0About one in three of Chelsea’s working residents commute to Augusta
Jobs & income B: better than 62% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #58 of 143 in Maine.
Walkability C+: more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns · #74 of 143 in Maine.
Household incomes here are higher than in 63% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 36 minutes each way (Maine 25, U.S. 26). Only 8% work in Chelsea; the top destination outside it is Augusta (36%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Chelsea
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Chelsea’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 36 minutes, longer than the Maine average of 25. Time on the road ↓
The jobs in Chelsea pay better than its residents’ jobs
86% of the jobs based in Chelsea pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 61% of the jobs Chelsea residents hold. 95% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Chelsea. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Chelsea is services
94% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 4% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Chelsea is where the jobs are
Chelsea has 2,165 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
36% of Chelsea works in Augusta
474 working residents, 36%, have their main job in Augusta, 4.7 miles away across the town line. That’s 5 times as many as work in Chelsea itself. The commute map ↓
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.
What’s behind Chelsea’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chelsea is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #58 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Chelsea’s grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chelsea could be anywhere from C to A−.
About 36 minutes each way, longer than most of Maine
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chelsea workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,176 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
2,165 jobs are based in Chelsea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chelsea’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chelsea, 2013 → 2023: 1,768 → 2,165. 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.
Chelsea fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,202 residents head out to work, 100 work right here, and 2,065 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,700 people are in Chelsea on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Chelsea’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Chelsea clocks in
36% 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.
Half of Chelsea commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Chelsea start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chelsea is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns, #74 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 4.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,251 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). 0.8% of Chelsea households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chelsea’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chelsea is 1,609th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Chelsea, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 291 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 967 | Kennebunkport ME | 3,717 | $103K | 4.6% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 971 | Minot ME | 2,866 | $96K | 6.2% | 1.6% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,607 | Rockledge PA | 2,613 | $93K | 9.5% | 7.9% | 3% | B |
| 1,608 | Monroe Township IN | 2,045 | $66K | 4.0% | 3.1% | 12% | B |
| 1,609 | Chelsea ME | 2,848 | $85K | 8.7% | 2.8% | 8% | B |
| 1,610 | Norwich NY | 3,499 | $63K | 4.3% | 0.7% | 15% | B |
| 1,611 | Mill Bay AK | 3,654 | $89K | 9.0% | 0.0% | — | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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.
36% of Chelsea works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Augusta (36%). Darker towns draw more of Chelsea’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chelsea workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | – | B | C+ | 36 min | $85,471 |
| Hallowell | under 2% | B+ | A | 14 min | $68,398 |
| Farmingdale | under 2% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $71,635 |
| Pittston | under 2% | B+ | D− | 26 min | $86,614 |
| Randolph | under 2% | C | B | 23 min | $66,574 |
| Augusta | 36% | C− | A− | 19 min | $47,979 |
| Whitefield | under 2% | B | C− | 30 min | $73,875 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Chelsea: questions
What is the median household income in Chelsea?
$85,471 (±$10,045) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chelsea?
8.7%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chelsea?
36 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chelsea work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (36%, 5 mi), Gardiner (6%, 6 mi), Bath (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chelsea walkable?
Chelsea is more walkable than 39% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chelsea without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chelsea, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chelsea
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.