Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Greene (0.1%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Only 7% work in Greene; the top destination outside it is Lewiston (24%, 7 miles). Greene grades B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Measured by household income, Greene is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Greene: the gist
A lot of Greene works one town over
44% of working residents work in a town that borders Greene: Lewiston (24%), Auburn (16%) and Turner (4%). Next door ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Greene
64% of Greene residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Greene pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Greene is a place people come home to
There are 418 jobs based in Greene, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Greene has about 2,900 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Greene’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greene is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #50 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Greene’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (13.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greene could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Inside Greene’s 418 jobs
418 jobs are based in Greene.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greene, 2013 → 2023: 391 → 418. 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 Greene’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Greene, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,880 residents head out to work, 143 work right here, and 275 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Greene on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.21 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 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Greene: the destinations
Where Greene clocks in
24% of workers
16% 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.
From Greene, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greene workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,212 commuters (the 12% 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.
Where in the region Greene works
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.
In Greene, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greene is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns, #131 of 143 in Maine. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 2,503 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). 6.6% of Greene households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Greene’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Greene is 1,363rd of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | 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 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 337 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 721 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 752 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,361 | Island Park NY | 5,069 | $105K | 12.5% | 5.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,362 | Stony Creek Township IN | 4,196 | $79K | 7.3% | 4.3% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,363 | Greene ME | 4,551 | $98K | 13.9% | 0.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,364 | Perry Township OH | 5,908 | $76K | 12.6% | 2.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,365 | Olympia Fields IL | 4,593 | $124K | 13.7% | 5.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | 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 Greene, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door is work for 44% of Greene
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greene workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene | – | B+ | D | 26 min | $98,093 |
| Turner | 4% | B+ | C | 25 min | $100,036 |
| Wales | under 2% | C− | D | 28 min | $77,004 |
| Auburn | 16% | C | B+ | 22 min | $66,647 |
| Lewiston | 24% | C | A | 21 min | $55,393 |
| Leeds | under 2% | B− | D | 34 min | $85,208 |
| Sabattus | under 2% | B | C− | 30 min | $59,387 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lewiston. Darker towns draw more of Greene’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 Greene: questions
What is the median household income in Greene?
$98,093 (±$15,640) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greene?
13.9%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greene?
26 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greene work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lewiston (24%, 7 mi), Auburn (16%, 9 mi), Augusta (6%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Greene walkable?
Greene is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greene without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greene, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greene
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.