Most of Lee commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
The average commute takes 35 minutes each way, next to 25 for Maine and 26 for the U.S. Employers in Lee report 153 jobs, against 322 working residents. About one in ten stay in Lee for work; outside it, Bangor is the main destination (18%, 45 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Lee
Lee’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lee is Bangor, 45 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (57) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Lee workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 322 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Near or far: the trip to work from Lee
About 30% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The trip to work from Lee: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lee workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 310 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.
The daily commute in and out of Lee
On a workday 294 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere.
About 750 people are in Lee on a workday afternoon, 18% 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.
Where Lee’s working residents head each day
Where Lee clocks in
18% of workers
3% 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.
Lee works in goods: 28% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lee, 2013 → 2023: 278 → 153. 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 Lee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
17% of Lee works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Lincoln (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Lee’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 Lee: questions
What is the median household income in Lee?
$49,886 (±$5,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lee?
19.5%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lee?
35 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lee work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (18%, 45 mi), Lincoln (14%, 7 mi), Brewer (3%, 46 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lee without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lee
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.