Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Island Falls works elsewhere
There are 133 jobs in Island Falls, against 248 working residents. About one in ten work in Island Falls; the top destination outside it is Houlton (13%, 20 miles). Home is the office for 7% of workers, where Maine as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Island Falls apart on work
Island Falls’ commute, mile by mile
About 36% 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.
How a workday changes Island Falls
On a workday 228 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 113 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Island Falls on a workday afternoon, 15% 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 2024, primary jobs.
The places Island Falls commutes to
Where Island Falls clocks in
13% of workers
9% 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 Island Falls’ employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Island Falls, 2014 → 2024: 149 → 133. 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 Island Falls’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Island Falls: about 21 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Island Falls workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 319 commuters (the 7% 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 towns next door employ 14% of Island Falls
The biggest share goes to Dyer Brook (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Island Falls workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Falls | – | — | — | 21 min | $56,328 |
| Crystal | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Dyer Brook | 8% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Sherman | 6% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Crystal, Dyer Brook and Sherman: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Island Falls’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 Island Falls: questions
What is the median household income in Island Falls?
$56,328 (±$8,365) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Island Falls?
20.7%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Island Falls?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Island Falls work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houlton (13%, 20 mi), Patten (9%, 14 mi), Dyer Brook (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Island Falls without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Island Falls, from the people who make the trip.
More of Island Falls
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.