Monson Engine House (Former) · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Monson works elsewhere
About one in ten work in Monson itself; outside it, Greenville draws the most (16%, 12 miles). Monson has 129 jobs for 235 working residents. The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average, next to 25 for Maine and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Monson apart on work
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 ↓
Monson workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (21 to 27 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 235 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Monson
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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Commuting from Monson: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monson workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 217 commuters (the 20% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Monson
On a workday 214 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 108 people come in from elsewhere.
About 540 people are in Monson on a workday afternoon, 17% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Monson: the destinations
Where Monson clocks in
16% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
What Monson’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monson, 2014 → 2024: 33 → 129. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Monson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Next door to Monson
The biggest share goes to Shirley (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monson | – | — | — | 30 min | $56,017 |
| Willimantic | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Shirley | 6% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Abbot | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Willimantic, Shirley and Abbot: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monson’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 2024, 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 Monson: questions
What is the median household income in Monson?
$56,017 (±$3,749) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monson?
14.9%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monson?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monson work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (16%, 12 mi), Dover-Foxcroft (8%, 17 mi), Guilford (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Monson without a car?
9% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Monson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monson
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.