Otis has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
76 jobs are based in Otis; 318 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Otis itself; outside it, Bangor draws the most (28%, 16 miles). Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, where Maine as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Otis in brief
Otis workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 130 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (25 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Otis is a place people come home to
There are 76 jobs based in Otis, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Otis has about 430 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
28% of Otis works in Bangor
88 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Bangor, 17 miles away. That’s 28 times as many as work in Otis itself. The commute map ↓
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 318 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting from Otis: about 42 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Otis workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 370 commuters (the 5% 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.
Who commutes out of Otis, and who commutes in
On a workday 315 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 73 people come in from elsewhere.
About 430 people are in Otis on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
Where people from Otis work
Where Otis clocks in
28% of workers
14% of workers
8% 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 kinds of work in Otis
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Otis, 2013 → 2023: 184 → 76. 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 Otis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Otis goes to work
About 20% 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.
Otis and its neighbors: 17% work next door
The biggest share goes to Ellsworth (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Otis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otis | – | — | — | 42 min | $101,250 |
| Dedham | 3% | B− | C− | 30 min | $111,442 |
| Mariaville | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Ellsworth | 14% | B− | A− | 25 min | $77,375 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mariaville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Otis’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 Otis: questions
What is the median household income in Otis?
$101,250 (±$26,813) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Otis?
7.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Otis?
42 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Otis work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (28%, 16 mi), Ellsworth (14%, 10 mi), Brewer (8%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Otis without a car?
0% 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 Otis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Otis
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.