Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Harrison commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
233 jobs are based in Harrison, and 1,058 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Harrison are D for jobs and income and D for walkability. Household incomes here are lower 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 and commuting in Harrison, in brief
Harrison’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Harrison is Portland, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (106) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Harrison is a place people come home to
There are 233 jobs based in Harrison, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Harrison has about 1,800 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Harrison workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 46 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.
Why Harrison gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Harrison is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #142 of 143 in Maine. Household income holds Harrison’s grade up ($56,938, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Harrison could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Harrison
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Harrison
On a workday 971 residents head out to work, 87 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Harrison on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Getting to work from Harrison takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harrison workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 936 commuters (the 22% 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.
10% of working residents work in Portland
Where Harrison clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
Goods jobs make up 37% of work in Harrison
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harrison, 2013 → 2023: 187 → 233. 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 Harrison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Harrison gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harrison is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns, #134 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 1,204 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.4% of Harrison households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Harrison’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Harrison compares with U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 317 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 787 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 791 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,904 | Checotah OK | 3,096 | $37K | 18.8% | 7.4% | 19% | D |
| 4,905 | Mabton WA | 1,967 | $57K | 27.8% | 10.7% | 3% | D |
| 4,906 | Harrison ME | 2,639 | $57K | 19.1% | 8.0% | 8% | D |
| 4,907 | Window Rock AZ | 2,477 | $56K | 24.9% | 8.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,908 | Park Hill OK | 3,237 | $47K | 23.7% | 7.5% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,278 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Harrison, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
17% of Harrison works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Bridgton (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harrison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison | – | D | D | 31 min | $56,938 |
| Otisfield | under 4% | C+ | C− | 33 min | $84,271 |
| Bridgton | 9% | C | C | 41 min | $77,500 |
| Naples | 5% | B | C− | 38 min | $78,188 |
| Waterford | under 4% | D | C− | 34 min | $66,071 |
| Norway | 3% | C− | C | 34 min | $54,342 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Harrison’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 Harrison: questions
What is the median household income in Harrison?
$56,938 (±$5,694) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harrison?
19.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harrison?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harrison work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (10%, 40 mi), Bridgton (9%, 6 mi), Naples (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Harrison walkable?
Harrison is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harrison without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Harrison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harrison
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.