Frost Garrison and House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Eliot has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.6 for each
1,480 jobs are based in Eliot, against 2,673 working residents. For jobs and income Eliot is better than 76% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (B−). Household incomes here are higher than in 78% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Eliot, in a few figures
A lot of Eliot workers cross into New Hampshire
38% of Eliot workers work outside Maine, most of them in New Hampshire, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
A lot of Eliot works one town over
43% of working residents work in a town that borders Eliot: Portsmouth (15%), Kittery (10%) and York (8%). Next door ↓
Many of the people who work in Eliot live in another state
Dover, NH (5%), Rochester, NH (5%) and Portsmouth, NH (3%) are among the top places Eliot’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 16% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Eliot has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Eliot went from 1,043 in 2013 to 1,480 in 2023, +42%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Eliot
The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 52% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Eliot could be anywhere from B− to A.
15% of working residents work in Portsmouth
Where Eliot clocks in
15% of workers
10% 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.
66% of the jobs in Eliot pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eliot, 2013 → 2023: 1,043 → 1,480. 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 Eliot’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Eliot by day and by night
On a workday 2,383 residents head out to work, 290 work right here, and 1,190 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Eliot on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
Time on the road from Eliot: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eliot workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,164 commuters (the 17% 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 commute from Eliot, by distance
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 Eliot, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,831 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). 1.8% of Eliot households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Eliot’s commuters take a bus or train.
Eliot next to U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,300: 904th of 3,018 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 308 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 363 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 902 | Tuscarawas Township OH | 5,844 | $87K | 10.0% | 2.1% | 5% | A− |
| 903 | Lower Swatara Township PA | 10,043 | $87K | 9.0% | 3.1% | 9% | A− |
| 904 | Eliot ME | 7,643 | $102K | 4.8% | 3.7% | 11% | A− |
| 905 | New Scotland NY | 9,299 | $123K | 6.4% | 4.7% | 7% | A− |
| 906 | Frankfort Square IL | 9,560 | $127K | 6.4% | 7.4% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,018 | 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 Eliot, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
43% of Eliot works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Portsmouth (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eliot workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliot | – | A− | B− | 23 min | $101,522 |
| South Berwick | 3% | B+ | C | 27 min | $99,572 |
| Kittery | 10% | B | A− | 20 min | $93,728 |
| York | 8% | A− | B | 24 min | $121,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eliot’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 Eliot: questions
What is the median household income in Eliot?
$101,522 (±$9,660) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eliot?
4.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eliot?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eliot work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portsmouth (15%, 6 mi), Kittery (10%, 13 mi), York (8%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eliot walkable?
Eliot is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eliot without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eliot, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eliot
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.