Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWith 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Monroe works elsewhere
65 jobs are based in Monroe; 373 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Monroe itself; outside it, Belfast draws the most (30%, 12 miles). Working residents average 32 minutes each way; Maine averages 25, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Monroe: the figures worth knowing
Monroe is a place people come home to
There are 65 jobs based in Monroe, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Monroe has about 630 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
30% of Monroe works in Belfast
111 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Belfast, 12 miles away. That’s 30 times as many as work in Monroe itself. The commute map ↓
Monroe workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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 373 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Monroe by day and by night
On a workday 370 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 62 people come in from elsewhere.
About 630 people are in Monroe on a workday afternoon, 33% 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 Monroe: the destinations
Where Monroe clocks in
30% of workers
6% 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.
Monroe’s commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monroe workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 389 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 kinds of work in Monroe
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monroe, 2013 → 2023: 28 → 65. 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 Monroe’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Monroe’s 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.
Around Monroe: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Brooks (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monroe workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe | – | — | — | 32 min | $81,300 |
| Frankfort | under 3% | C− | C− | 32 min | $80,000 |
| Swanville | under 3% | D− | B | 26 min | $51,935 |
| Brooks | 3% | D | B− | 25 min | $59,130 |
| Winterport | under 3% | B+ | C− | 32 min | $98,333 |
| Jackson | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Jackson: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monroe’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 Monroe: questions
What is the median household income in Monroe?
$81,300 (±$6,520) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monroe?
11.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monroe?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monroe work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Belfast (30%, 12 mi), Bangor (6%, 21 mi), Augusta (4%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Monroe without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monroe, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monroe
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.