Dresden Town House · Photo: Iverjm · CC BY-SA 3.0Dresden has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
For 7% of workers, the job is at home, where Maine as a whole has 16%. Dresden has 118 jobs for 688 working residents. The two grades for Dresden are B− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Dresden stands out on work
Dresden is a place people come home to
There are 118 jobs based in Dresden, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Dresden has about 1,200 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Dresden workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 61 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 688 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Dresden: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Dresden is better than 46% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Dresden’s grade.
Unemployment (1.2%) is left out: Dresden’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Dresden could be anywhere from C− to A−.
In and out of Dresden on a workday
On a workday 672 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 102 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Dresden on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
The trip to work from Dresden: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dresden workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 795 commuters (the 7% 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.
14% of working residents work in Bath
Where Dresden clocks in
14% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Dresden: what the 118 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dresden, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 118. 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 Dresden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Dresden works
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.
For most of Dresden, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dresden is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Dresden 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 852 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). 5.7% of Dresden households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dresden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Dresden places 2,297th of 5,343 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 258 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 532 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 577 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,295 | Redfield SD | 2,114 | $58K | 6.0% | 2.2% | 42% | B− |
| 2,296 | Redgranite WI | 2,113 | $64K | 5.4% | 2.1% | 5% | B− |
| 2,297 | Dresden ME | 1,792 | $75K | 9.3% | 1.2% | 2% | B− |
| 2,298 | Tremont ME | 1,552 | $89K | 6.6% | 2.3% | 19% | B− |
| 2,299 | Green Meadows OH | 2,144 | $73K | 14.3% | 5.3% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,343 | 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 Dresden, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Bordering towns draw 11% of Dresden’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dresden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dresden | – | B− | D | 33 min | $74,844 |
| Richmond | under 3% | B− | C | 29 min | $65,854 |
| Wiscasset | 11% | B | C | 25 min | $71,118 |
| Alna | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Woolwich | under 3% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $102,175 |
| Pittston | under 3% | B+ | D− | 26 min | $86,614 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alna: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wiscasset. Darker towns draw more of Dresden’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 Dresden: questions
What is the median household income in Dresden?
$74,844 (±$22,164) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dresden?
9.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dresden?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dresden work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bath (14%, 12 mi), Wiscasset (11%, 6 mi), Portland (7%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dresden walkable?
Dresden is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dresden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dresden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dresden
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.