Winn Road School · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Cumberland’s household incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 3.1% of residents (Maine 10.7%). The two grades for Cumberland are A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 25% of workers; Maine has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Cumberland, in brief
A lot of Cumberland works from home
25% of Cumberland workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
30% of Cumberland works in Portland
1,151 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Portland, 11 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Cumberland 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.
The four measures behind Cumberland’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cumberland is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #1 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment is its strongest input (0.2%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cumberland could be anywhere from A to A+.
Time on the road from Cumberland: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cumberland workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,423 commuters (the 25% 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.
30% of working residents work in Portland
Where Cumberland clocks in
30% of workers
6% 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.
How a workday changes Cumberland
On a workday 3,497 residents head out to work, 398 work right here, and 1,433 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,800 people are in Cumberland on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.47 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.
Most jobs in Cumberland are in services
1,831 jobs are based in Cumberland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cumberland, 2013 → 2023: 1,398 → 1,831. 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 Cumberland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Cumberland
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.
Cumberland is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cumberland is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #69 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,585 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.3% of Cumberland households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Cumberland’s commuters take a bus or train.
94th of 2,907: where Cumberland ranks among U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Gretna NE | 9,207 | $124K | 4.2% | 0.6% | 11% | A+ |
| 93 | South Weber UT | 8,218 | $139K | 2.2% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 94 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 95 | Auburn Township OH | 6,593 | $156K | 3.4% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 96 | Sierra Madre CA | 10,620 | $144K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 324 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 381 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 769 | Gray ME | 8,676 | $95K | 3.5% | 3.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Cumberland, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
11% of Cumberland works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Falmouth (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cumberland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | – | A+ | C+ | 24 min | $173,894 |
| North Yarmouth | under 3% | A | C+ | 27 min | $129,267 |
| Yarmouth | 5% | B+ | B | 27 min | $110,216 |
| Falmouth | 6% | A+ | C+ | 23 min | $150,919 |
| Gray | under 3% | A− | C− | 29 min | $95,236 |
| Windham | under 3% | A | B | 26 min | $107,934 |
| Chebeague Island | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Chebeague Island: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cumberland’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 Cumberland: questions
What is the median household income in Cumberland?
$173,894 (±$19,740) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cumberland?
3.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cumberland?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cumberland work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (30%, 11 mi), South Portland (6%, 11 mi), Westbrook (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cumberland walkable?
Cumberland is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cumberland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cumberland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cumberland
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.