Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Leeds works elsewhere
Leeds grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Employers in Leeds report 307 jobs; 1,150 of its residents have a job. Only 4% work in Leeds; the top destination outside it is Lewiston (20%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Leeds: the gist
Leeds workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (25 to 30 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Leeds is a place people come home to
There are 307 jobs based in Leeds, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Leeds has about 1,600 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.
Jobs & income in Leeds: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Leeds is better than 46% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Leeds’ grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Leeds could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Time on the road from Leeds: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Leeds workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 969 commuters (the 10% 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.
Leeds on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,102 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 259 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Leeds on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
Commuting out of Leeds: the destinations
Where Leeds clocks in
20% of workers
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.
A place that makes things: 34% of Leeds’ jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Leeds, 2013 → 2023: 202 → 307. 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 Leeds’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Leeds’ workers travel
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.
Driving is how Leeds gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Leeds is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns. 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 1,077 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). 2.7% of Leeds households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Leeds’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200, Leeds ranks 2,425th of 4,995 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 283 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 709 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 714 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,423 | French Lick IN | 1,772 | $55K | 10.1% | 0.5% | 38% | B− |
| 2,424 | Pickens SC | 3,188 | $55K | 16.7% | 1.3% | 6% | B− |
| 2,425 | Leeds ME | 2,406 | $85K | 19.8% | 2.6% | 4% | B− |
| 2,426 | Bruce Township MI | 2,024 | $86K | 5.7% | 4.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,427 | Roseland FL | 2,142 | $64K | 7.2% | 0.0% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | 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 Leeds, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Leeds and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Turner (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Leeds workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | – | B− | D | 34 min | $85,208 |
| Turner | 6% | B+ | C | 25 min | $100,036 |
| Livermore | under 3% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $70,441 |
| Wayne | under 3% | B | C+ | 30 min | $93,194 |
| Monmouth | under 3% | B | C− | 30 min | $74,648 |
| Greene | 3% | B+ | D | 26 min | $98,093 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Leeds’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 Leeds: questions
What is the median household income in Leeds?
$85,208 (±$13,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Leeds?
19.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Leeds?
34 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Leeds work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lewiston (20%, 14 mi), Auburn (13%, 16 mi), Augusta (9%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Leeds walkable?
Leeds is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Leeds 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 Leeds, from the people who make the trip.
More of Leeds
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.