Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainJobs, pay and the trip to work in Patten
For 29% of workers, the job is at home, where Maine as a whole has 16%. About one in five work in Patten itself; outside it, Houlton draws the most (10%, 33 miles). Working residents average 28 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
What the numbers say about work in Patten
Patten’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Patten is Houlton, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (29) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% 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 ↓
A lot of Patten works from home
29% of Patten workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. 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 294 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far it is to work from Patten
About 39% 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 trip to work from Patten: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Patten workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 268 commuters (the 29% 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.
Patten on a workday afternoon
On a workday 241 residents head out to work, 53 work right here, and 220 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 (0.93 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 people from Patten work
Where Patten clocks in
10% 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 kinds of work in Patten
273 jobs are based in Patten.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Patten, 2013 → 2023: 294 → 273. 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 Patten’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Around Patten: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Stacyville (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Patten workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patten | – | — | — | 28 min | $51,484 |
| Crystal | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Stacyville | 8% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Mount Chase | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Crystal, Stacyville and Mount Chase: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Patten’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 Patten: questions
What is the median household income in Patten?
$51,484 (±$5,769) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Patten?
23.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Patten?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Patten work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houlton (10%, 33 mi), Stacyville (8%, 7 mi), Millinocket (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Patten without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Patten, from the people who make the trip.
More of Patten
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.