US Post Office-Old Town Main · Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/8181884923/ · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Old Town (1.8%) is lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Old Town is better than 35% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in seven work in Old Town; the top destination outside it is Bangor (36%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Old Town apart
36% of Old Town works in Bangor
1,256 working residents, 36%, have their main job in Bangor, 8.9 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Old Town itself. The commute map ↓
A young workforce
31% of Old Town’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Old Town are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 38 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Old Town
Unemployment holds Old Town’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (21.3%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Old Town could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Where people from Old Town work
Where Old Town clocks in
36% of workers
12% 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.
The 2,354 jobs based in Old Town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Old Town, 2013 → 2023: 2,568 → 2,354. 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 Old Town’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Old Town spends getting to work: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Old Town workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,986 commuters (the 21% 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 a workday changes Old Town
On a workday 3,045 residents head out to work, 433 work right here, and 1,921 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Old Town on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Old Town’s commute, mile by mile
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 Old Town is mostly behind the wheel
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,801 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). 10.1% of Old Town households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Old Town’s commuters take a bus or train.
Old Town places 2,196th of 3,071 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 313 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 369 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,194 | Gilead Township OH | 6,080 | $59K | 11.2% | 4.4% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,195 | Macclenny FL | 8,251 | $74K | 9.5% | 7.1% | 18% | C |
| 2,196 | Old Town ME | 7,589 | $52K | 21.3% | 1.8% | 12% | C |
| 2,197 | Buena Vista VA | 6,672 | $58K | 18.8% | 1.4% | 22% | C |
| 2,198 | North Madison OH | 8,594 | $68K | 9.9% | 6.8% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,071 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Old Town, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Work next door: 13% of Old Town’s workers
The biggest share goes to Orono (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Old Town workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town | – | C | B+ | 20 min | $51,585 |
| Orono | 12% | B+ | A− | 15 min | $61,528 |
| Milford | 1% | B | C− | 23 min | $85,111 |
| Bradley | under 2% | B− | C | 23 min | $76,667 |
| Alton | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Alton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Old Town’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 Old Town: questions
What is the median household income in Old Town?
$51,585 (±$9,734) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Old Town?
21.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Old Town?
20 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Old Town work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (36%, 9 mi), Orono (12%, 5 mi), Brewer (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Old Town walkable?
Old Town is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Old Town without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Old Town, from the people who make the trip.
More of Old Town
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.