U.S. Inspection Station-Fort Fairfield, Maine · Photo: wbaron · CC BY-SA 3.0At 9.1%, unemployment in Fort Fairfield is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Fort Fairfield for work; outside it, Presque Isle is the main destination (32%, 9 miles). The two grades for Fort Fairfield are C− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 9% of workers, against 16% across Maine.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fort Fairfield apart on work
Much of Fort Fairfield works one town over
55% of working residents work in a town that borders Fort Fairfield: Presque Isle (32%), Easton (11%) and Caribou (11%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Fort Fairfield are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine worker. Time on the road ↓
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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Fort Fairfield
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fort Fairfield is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #128 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds Fort Fairfield’s grade up (10.3%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fort Fairfield could be anywhere from D− to B.
About 17 minutes each way for Fort Fairfield’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Fairfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,426 commuters (the 9% 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.
Fort Fairfield on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,088 residents head out to work, 148 work right here, and 324 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Fort Fairfield on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.38 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 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Fort Fairfield to work: where people go
Where Fort Fairfield clocks in
32% of workers
11% 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.
The kinds of work in Fort Fairfield
472 jobs are based in Fort Fairfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Fairfield, 2014 → 2024: 526 → 472. 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 Fort Fairfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Fort Fairfield
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Most trips from Fort Fairfield start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fort Fairfield is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #136 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Fort Fairfield 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 1,565 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). 8.4% of Fort Fairfield households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fort Fairfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Fort Fairfield next to U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400: 3,669th of 4,453 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 764 | Limington ME | 4,173 | $85K | 3.4% | 0.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 915 | Orrington ME | 3,912 | $95K | 6.6% | 1.7% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 987 | Kennebunkport ME | 3,717 | $103K | 4.6% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,667 | Colwyn PA | 2,465 | $47K | 34.9% | 21.2% | 1% | C− |
| 3,668 | Jefferson Township IN | 3,303 | $59K | 11.4% | 5.6% | 12% | C− |
| 3,669 | Fort Fairfield ME | 3,285 | $71K | 10.3% | 9.1% | 12% | C− |
| 3,670 | Barker NY | 2,458 | $64K | 20.5% | 7.0% | 2% | C− |
| 3,671 | Sabina OH | 2,437 | $49K | 22.7% | 3.8% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Fort Fairfield, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
55% of Fort Fairfield works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fort Fairfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Fairfield | – | C− | D | 17 min | $70,852 |
| Presque Isle | 32% | C− | B | 14 min | $55,768 |
| Limestone | 1% | D | B | 19 min | $49,938 |
| Easton | 11% | D | C− | 20 min | $53,309 |
| Caribou | 11% | C− | B+ | 15 min | $53,709 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Presque Isle. Darker towns draw more of Fort Fairfield’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 Fort Fairfield: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Fairfield?
$70,852 (±$16,364) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Fairfield?
10.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Fairfield?
17 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fort Fairfield work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Presque Isle (32%, 9 mi), Easton (11%, 10 mi), Caribou (11%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Fort Fairfield walkable?
Fort Fairfield is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fort Fairfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Fairfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Fairfield
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.