Porter-Parsonfield Bridge · Photo: --Hugh Manatee 14:08, 11 February 2011 (UTC) · CC0Porter has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs and income earn Porter C−; getting around on foot earns it C−. Employers in Porter report 254 jobs for 722 working residents. Only 6% stay in Porter for work; outside it, Portland is the main destination (8%, 41 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Porter: the figures worth knowing
Porter’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Porter is Portland, 41 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (57) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Porter workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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; with 722 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Porter’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Porter is better than 17% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Porter’s grade up (9.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.1%) is left out: Porter’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Porter could be anywhere from D to C.
Miles to work from Porter
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.
Each way, about 32 minutes from Porter
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Porter workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 702 commuters (the 16% 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.
Porter on a workday afternoon
On a workday 681 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 213 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Porter on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Out of Porter to work: where people go
Where Porter clocks in
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.
The kinds of work in Porter
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Porter, 2013 → 2023: 248 → 254. 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 Porter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Porter walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Porter is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Porter 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 831 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). 1.9% of Porter households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Porter’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Porter ranks: 3,974th of 5,381 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 245 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 499 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 544 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,972 | Sundown TX | 1,317 | $59K | 14.6% | 14.2% | 7% | C− |
| 3,973 | Chesterville ME | 1,378 | $62K | 12.0% | 2.9% | 2% | C− |
| 3,974 | Porter ME | 1,652 | $60K | 9.8% | 3.1% | 6% | C− |
| 3,975 | Pierson FL | 1,555 | $57K | 10.2% | 0.0% | 9% | C− |
| 3,976 | Lamoni IA | 2,074 | $55K | 16.6% | 3.7% | 24% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | 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 Porter, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns around Porter
The biggest share goes to Hiram (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Porter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | – | C− | C− | 32 min | $60,417 |
| Parsonsfield | under 3% | C− | C− | 48 min | $72,045 |
| Hiram | 7% | D | D− | 31 min | $62,813 |
| Brownfield | under 3% | C− | D | 44 min | $60,889 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Porter’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 Porter: questions
What is the median household income in Porter?
$60,417 (±$8,800) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Porter?
9.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Porter?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Porter work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (8%, 41 mi), Hiram (7%, 6 mi), Cornish (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Porter walkable?
Porter is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Porter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Porter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Porter
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.