Acadian Landing Site · Photo: Todd Edgard (NPS employee) · Public domainUnemployment in Madawaska (7.4%) is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Madawaska is better than 9% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (C−). Home is the office for 6% of workers, where Maine as a whole has 16%. Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Madawaska apart on work
Commutes from Madawaska are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine worker, and quicker than any town next door (16 to 23 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Madawaska go to people who live here
Of the 1,426 jobs based in Madawaska, 56% are held by Madawaska residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Madawaska makes and builds things
42% of the jobs based in Madawaska are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Madawaska residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
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.
Inside Madawaska’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Madawaska’s grade up (13.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madawaska could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Getting to work from Madawaska takes about 12 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madawaska workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,297 commuters (the 6% 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.
How many people are in Madawaska by day
On a workday 691 residents head out to work, 798 work right here, and 628 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 (0.96 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.
Goods, not services: 42% of the jobs in Madawaska
1,426 jobs are based in Madawaska.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madawaska, 2013 → 2023: 1,853 → 1,426. 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 Madawaska’s own residents hold wherever they work.
10% of working residents work in Fort Kent
Where Madawaska clocks in
10% 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.
The distance from Madawaska to work
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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Madawaska is mostly behind the wheel
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 1,376 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). 19.2% of Madawaska households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Madawaska’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200, and where Madawaska sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 742 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 780 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,912 | Carrollton KY | 3,964 | $46K | 22.8% | 6.5% | 17% | D |
| 3,913 | Madill OK | 4,181 | $48K | 19.9% | 6.4% | 25% | D |
| 3,914 | Madawaska ME | 3,846 | $57K | 13.0% | 7.4% | 54% | D |
| 3,915 | Westfield NY | 4,423 | $51K | 12.6% | 9.0% | 26% | D |
| 3,916 | Smithfield Township OH | 2,903 | $58K | 12.6% | 12.6% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Madawaska, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Madawaska
The biggest share goes to Frenchville (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Madawaska workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madawaska | – | D | C− | 12 min | $56,818 |
| St. Agatha | 4% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Grand Isle | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Frenchville | 5% | D− | C | 16 min | $55,461 |
Same-state neighbors only. St. Agatha and Grand Isle: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Madawaska’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 Madawaska: questions
What is the median household income in Madawaska?
$56,818 (±$8,780) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madawaska?
13.0%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madawaska?
12 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madawaska work?
54% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Kent (10%, 15 mi), Frenchville (5%, 7 mi), St. Agatha (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madawaska walkable?
Madawaska is more walkable than 21% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madawaska without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madawaska, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madawaska
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.