Abel Jones House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of China works elsewhere
Only 6% work in China; the top destination outside it is Augusta (27%, 11 miles). Employers in China report 658 jobs; 1,831 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn China B+; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set China apart
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for China
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, China is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #35 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds China’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 21% 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, China could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Each way, about 30 minutes from China
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of China workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,004 commuters (the 13% 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.
The daily flow of workers through China
On a workday 1,714 residents head out to work, 117 work right here, and 541 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in China on a workday afternoon, 25% 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.
Commuting out of China: the destinations
Where China clocks in
27% of workers
10% of workers
4% 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 kinds of work in China
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in China, 2013 → 2023: 698 → 658. 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 China’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far China’s workers travel
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 China gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, China is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #59 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place China 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 2,293 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). 3.6% of China households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of China’s commuters take a bus or train.
China places 1,258th of 4,009 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 351 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 748 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 779 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,256 | Colonial Heights TN | 3,258 | $80K | 4.7% | 4.5% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,257 | Montgomery MN | 3,539 | $79K | 5.8% | 3.0% | 14% | B+ |
| 1,258 | China ME | 4,636 | $96K | 6.0% | 2.1% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,259 | Mifflin Township OH | 6,116 | $74K | 7.3% | 2.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,260 | Salem Township OH | 5,210 | $62K | 4.2% | 1.4% | 13% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,009 | 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 China, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
China and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Winslow (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | China workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | – | B+ | B− | 30 min | $96,309 |
| Vassalboro | under 2% | C | D | 31 min | $72,300 |
| Palermo | under 2% | B− | C | 31 min | $89,095 |
| Winslow | 4% | B | C+ | 23 min | $70,917 |
| Albion | under 2% | D | C− | 34 min | $62,361 |
| Windsor | under 2% | C+ | C− | 36 min | $63,178 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of China’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 China: questions
What is the median household income in China?
$96,309 (±$12,098) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in China?
6.0%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from China?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in China work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (27%, 11 mi), Waterville (10%, 11 mi), Oakland (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is China walkable?
China is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around China without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from China, from the people who make the trip.
More of China
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.