Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Durham has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
317 jobs are based in Durham; 1,911 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Durham are B for jobs and income and D for walkability. Measured by household income, Durham is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Durham apart on work
A lot of Durham works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Durham: Freeport (13%), Lewiston (9%) and Brunswick (9%). Next door ↓
Durham is a place people come home to
There are 317 jobs based in Durham, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Durham has about 2,800 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Durham makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Durham are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Durham residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Durham’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Durham is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #61 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds Durham’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Durham could be anywhere from B− to A.
The daily flow of workers through Durham
On a workday 1,789 residents head out to work, 122 work right here, and 195 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Durham on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
Goods jobs make up 40% of work in Durham
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Durham, 2013 → 2023: 193 → 317. 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 Durham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
13% of working residents work in Freeport
Where Durham clocks in
13% of workers
9% of workers
9% 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.
Durham’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Durham workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,815 commuters (the 21% 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.
How far it is to work from Durham
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.
Most of Durham commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Durham is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #139 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Durham 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 2,296 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). 0.7% of Durham households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Durham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Durham places 1,601st of 3,908 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 339 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 723 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 755 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,599 | Fox Township PA | 3,495 | $75K | 6.0% | 1.6% | 16% | B |
| 1,600 | Bethlehem NC | 4,101 | $88K | 4.5% | 6.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,601 | Durham ME | 4,399 | $99K | 4.2% | 6.5% | 6% | B |
| 1,602 | Milton NH | 4,562 | $94K | 8.1% | 3.2% | 5% | B |
| 1,603 | South Sarasota FL | 4,837 | $93K | 9.5% | 5.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | 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 Durham, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns next door employ 36% of Durham
The biggest share goes to Freeport (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Durham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | – | B | D | 28 min | $99,181 |
| Lisbon | under 4% | A− | C+ | 29 min | $77,819 |
| Lisbon Falls | under 4% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Topsham | under 4% | B+ | B− | 24 min | $91,028 |
| Lewiston | 9% | C | A | 21 min | $55,393 |
| Auburn | 5% | C | B+ | 22 min | $66,647 |
| Pownal | under 4% | A− | D | 30 min | $104,333 |
| Freeport | 13% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $107,326 |
| New Gloucester | under 4% | B+ | B | 27 min | $108,797 |
| Brunswick | 9% | B | A | 23 min | $74,952 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lisbon Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Durham’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 Durham: questions
What is the median household income in Durham?
$99,181 (±$4,747) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Durham?
4.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Durham?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Durham work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Freeport (13%, 8 mi), Brunswick (9%, 9 mi), Lewiston (9%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Durham walkable?
Durham is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Durham 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 Durham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Durham
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.