Holden has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B: better than 61% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #60 of 143 in Maine.
Walkability D: more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns · #131 of 143 in Maine.
Household incomes here are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 25 minutes each way (Maine 25, U.S. 26). Only 5% work in Holden; the top destination outside it is Bangor (39%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Holden
39% of Holden works in Bangor
595 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Bangor, 7.2 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Holden itself. The commute map ↓
Most Holden residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
43% of the jobs in Holden are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Holden empties out on a workday
About 2,400 people are in Holden on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 3,400 who live here: 1,500 head out to work and 400 come in. 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.
What’s behind Holden’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Holden is better than 61% of U.S. towns, #60 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds Holden’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 21% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Holden could be anywhere from C to A.
39% of working residents work in Bangor
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Holden clocks in
39% of workers
12% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Holden commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 18% 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 2023.
What the 477 jobs in Holden are
477 jobs are based in Holden. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Holden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Holden, 2013 → 2023: 459 → 477. 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.
Holden quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,464 residents head out to work, 74 work right here, and 403 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Holden on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than live here.
0.31 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the ME average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Holden workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,566 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.
Most trips from Holden start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Holden 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: 0.0% 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 1,817 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). 5.7% of Holden households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Holden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Holden is 1,661st of 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Holden, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
| # | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 344 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 778 | Limington ME | 4,173 | $85K | 3.4% | 0.4% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,659 | Sprague CT | 2,954 | $93K | 8.1% | 4.7% | 4% | B |
| 1,660 | Hamblen Township IN | 4,525 | $87K | 9.4% | 1.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,661 | Holden ME | 3,438 | $92K | 3.2% | 4.5% | 5% | B |
| 1,662 | New Baltimore NY | 3,139 | $100K | 8.4% | 3.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,663 | Southington Township OH | 3,700 | $70K | 13.6% | 0.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | 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.
14% of Holden works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Brewer (12%). Darker towns draw more of Holden’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Holden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holden | – | B | D | 25 min | $92,200 |
| Eddington | 2% | B | D | 32 min | $75,350 |
| Orrington | under 2% | A− | C− | 21 min | $94,556 |
| Brewer | 12% | B | B− | 17 min | $66,613 |
| Dedham | under 2% | B− | C− | 30 min | $111,442 |
| Bucksport | under 2% | C | D | 28 min | $64,720 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Holden: questions
What is the median household income in Holden?
$92,200 (±$34,602) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Holden?
3.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Holden?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Holden work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (39%, 7 mi), Brewer (12%, 3 mi), Hermon (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Holden walkable?
Holden 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 Holden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Holden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Holden
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.