Photo: Wcnghj (Gregory Ramey) · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Limestone earn less than those in 88% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Limestone are D for jobs and income and B for walkability. 16.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Maine has 10.7%. About one in four work in Limestone itself; outside it, Caribou draws the most (22%, 6 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 Limestone
Limestone and Caribou trade workers both ways
Caribou is the top workplace for Limestone residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Limestone come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Limestone than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Limestone fell from 863 in 2013 to 409 in 2023, −53%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Limestone are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine 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; with 494 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Limestone
On income, poverty and job access, Limestone is better than 6% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Limestone’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (6.8%) is left out: Limestone’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Limestone could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Out of Limestone to work: where people go
Where Limestone clocks in
22% of workers
20% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Limestone: what the 409 are
409 jobs are based in Limestone.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Limestone, 2013 → 2023: 863 → 409. 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 Limestone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way for Limestone’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Limestone workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 565 commuters (the 15% 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.
Who leaves Limestone for work, and who comes in
On a workday 379 residents head out to work, 115 work right here, and 294 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from Limestone
About 23% 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.
In Limestone, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Limestone is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 661 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). 12.4% of Limestone households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Limestone’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Limestone is 5,656th of 6,308 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 515 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 556 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,654 | Great Falls SC | 1,960 | $30K | 31.1% | 3.6% | 4% | D |
| 5,655 | Elkhart TX | 1,265 | $53K | 28.0% | 17.0% | 10% | D |
| 5,656 | Limestone ME | 1,487 | $50K | 16.4% | 6.8% | 23% | D |
| 5,657 | Elba Township MI | 1,275 | $52K | 17.0% | 4.7% | 3% | D |
| 5,658 | Archer FL | 1,159 | $41K | 38.1% | 7.0% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Limestone, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns next door employ 24% of Limestone
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Limestone workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone | – | D | B | 19 min | $49,938 |
| Caribou | 22% | C− | B+ | 15 min | $53,709 |
| Fort Fairfield | 2% | C− | D | 17 min | $70,852 |
| Caswell | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Caswell: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Caribou. Darker towns draw more of Limestone’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 Limestone: questions
What is the median household income in Limestone?
$49,938 (±$8,463) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Limestone?
16.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Limestone?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Limestone work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Caribou (22%, 6 mi), Presque Isle (20%, 16 mi), Bangor (4%, 150 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Limestone walkable?
Limestone is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Limestone without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Limestone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Limestone
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.