Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Newcastle has some of the lowest unemployment in the country, with hardly anyone out of work
The average commute takes 17 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Newcastle A−; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in ten stay in Newcastle for work; outside it, Damariscotta is the main destination (10%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Newcastle
The figures behind Newcastle’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newcastle is better than 81% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Newcastle’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newcastle could be anywhere from B to A.
Newcastle’s commute takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newcastle workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 845 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.
Newcastle by day and by night
On a workday 691 residents head out to work, 73 work right here, and 631 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 (0.92 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.
Where Newcastle’s working residents head each day
Where Newcastle clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
Inside Newcastle’s 704 jobs
704 jobs are based in Newcastle.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newcastle, 2013 → 2023: 714 → 704. 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 Newcastle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Newcastle, by distance
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.
Most trips from Newcastle start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newcastle is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Newcastle near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,059 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). 7.1% of Newcastle households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Newcastle’s commuters take a bus or train.
Newcastle places 716th of 5,921 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 598 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 651 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 714 | Apple Mountain Lake VA | 1,671 | $132K | 3.2% | 4.3% | 1% | A− |
| 715 | Lewiston NY | 2,492 | $74K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A− |
| 716 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| 717 | Spencer Township OH | 1,754 | $85K | 4.6% | 3.0% | 5% | A− |
| 718 | Pike Township OH | 1,707 | $95K | 3.6% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Newcastle, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
17% of Newcastle works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Newcastle workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | – | A− | B+ | 17 min | $89,868 |
| Alna | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Damariscotta | 10% | C− | B | 23 min | $59,423 |
| Nobleboro | under 3% | B− | C+ | 20 min | $100,417 |
| Wiscasset | 4% | B | C | 25 min | $71,118 |
| South Bristol | under 3% | C | B+ | 17 min | $69,211 |
| Edgecomb | 3% | B+ | B+ | 22 min | $108,750 |
| Bristol | under 3% | C+ | B | 18 min | $100,750 |
| Jefferson | under 3% | B− | C+ | 30 min | $85,078 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alna: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Damariscotta. Darker towns draw more of Newcastle’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 Newcastle: questions
What is the median household income in Newcastle?
$89,868 (±$33,322) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newcastle?
3.5%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newcastle?
17 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newcastle work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Damariscotta (10%, 4 mi), Portland (9%, 42 mi), Bath (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newcastle walkable?
Newcastle is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newcastle without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newcastle, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newcastle
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.