Norton House Historic District · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Falmouth’s household incomes are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 34% of workers, where Maine as a whole has 16%. 2.3% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 10.7% for Maine as a whole. Jobs and income earn Falmouth A+; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Falmouth at work: what stands out
A lot of Falmouth works from home
34% of Falmouth workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Falmouth works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Falmouth: Portland (36%) and Westbrook (6%). Next door ↓
Most Falmouth residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Falmouth earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Falmouth is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #2 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 73% 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, Falmouth could be anywhere from A to A+.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Falmouth
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Falmouth workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,865 commuters (the 34% 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.
Falmouth’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How many people are in Falmouth by day
On a workday 4,950 residents head out to work, 702 work right here, and 6,458 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Falmouth on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
36% of working residents work in Portland
Where Falmouth clocks in
36% of workers
8% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Falmouth
7,160 jobs are based in Falmouth.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Falmouth, 2014 → 2024: 5,955 → 7,160. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Falmouth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Falmouth, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Falmouth is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #67 of 143 in Maine. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.0% across Maine.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,820 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 34% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 5.1% of Falmouth households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Falmouth’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Falmouth ranks: 173rd of 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 171 | Bondurant IA | 9,647 | $136K | 6.2% | 0.9% | 5% | A+ |
| 172 | Oxford CT | 13,311 | $129K | 4.0% | 2.3% | 9% | A+ |
| 173 | Falmouth ME | 12,982 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.7% | 12% | A+ |
| 174 | Wayland MA | 13,913 | $224K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 5% | A+ |
| 175 | Hampton Township PA | 17,808 | $134K | 3.9% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 303 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 698 | York ME | 14,293 | $121K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 30% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 798 | Lisbon ME | 9,919 | $78K | 5.3% | 1.8% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Falmouth, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Falmouth and its neighbors: 42% work next door
The biggest share goes to Portland (36%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Falmouth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falmouth | – | A+ | C+ | 23 min | $150,919 |
| Portland | 36% | B | A+ | 19 min | $79,540 |
| Westbrook | 6% | A− | A− | 19 min | $85,038 |
| Cumberland | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 24 min | $173,894 |
| Long Island | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Windham | under 2% | A | B | 26 min | $107,934 |
Same-state neighbors only. Long Island: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Falmouth’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 2024, 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 Falmouth: questions
What is the median household income in Falmouth?
$150,919 (±$23,731) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Falmouth?
2.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Falmouth?
23 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Falmouth work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (36%, 9 mi), South Portland (8%, 8 mi), Westbrook (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Falmouth walkable?
Falmouth is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Falmouth without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Falmouth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Falmouth
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.