Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0More people are out of work in Gardiner (7.5%) than in 86% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Gardiner for work; outside it, Augusta is the main destination (25%, 10 miles). Gardiner grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. The average commute takes 30 minutes each way (Maine 25, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Gardiner and work: the main findings
Gardiner trades workers with the towns around it
Gardiner has about as many jobs (2,941) as working residents (2,545), but they are mostly different people: 2,201 residents leave for work each day while 2,597 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Gardiner are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Gardiner workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 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.
The figures behind Gardiner’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gardiner is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #107 of 143 in Maine. Job access by car holds Gardiner’s grade up (ahead of 51% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gardiner could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Gardiner
On a workday 2,201 residents head out to work, 344 work right here, and 2,597 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 30 minutes in Gardiner
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gardiner workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,585 commuters (the 14% 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 places Gardiner commutes to
Where Gardiner clocks in
25% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
What work there is in Gardiner: 2,941 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gardiner, 2013 → 2023: 2,846 → 2,941. 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 Gardiner’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Gardiner
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.
Gardiner is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gardiner is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #32 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 6.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,003 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). 9.0% of Gardiner households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Gardiner’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Gardiner is 2,418th among 3,432 U.S. towns of 4,300 to 8,400
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 730 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 755 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,416 | Willis TX | 7,652 | $69K | 11.1% | 12.3% | 7% | C |
| 2,417 | Ulysses NY | 4,728 | $71K | 6.6% | 8.1% | 12% | C |
| 2,418 | Gardiner ME | 6,206 | $72K | 10.5% | 7.5% | 14% | C |
| 2,419 | Abingdon VA | 8,284 | $55K | 15.9% | 3.0% | 26% | C |
| 2,420 | Wheelersburg OH | 6,313 | $63K | 11.4% | 4.0% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | 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 Gardiner, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Gardiner
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gardiner workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner | – | C | B+ | 30 min | $71,782 |
| West Gardiner | under 3% | B+ | B− | 24 min | $96,172 |
| Pittston | under 3% | B+ | D− | 26 min | $86,614 |
| Farmingdale | under 3% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $71,635 |
| Litchfield | under 3% | A− | C | 32 min | $84,904 |
| Randolph | under 3% | C | B | 23 min | $66,574 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gardiner’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 Gardiner: questions
What is the median household income in Gardiner?
$71,782 (±$10,317) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gardiner?
10.5%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gardiner?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gardiner work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (25%, 10 mi), Bath (6%, 18 mi), Auburn (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gardiner walkable?
Gardiner is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gardiner without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gardiner, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gardiner
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.