Photo: PhilipC · CC BY 2.0Portland has 2.2 jobs for every working resident: 58,041 people commute in to work
For 25% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across Maine. Portland has 74,243 jobs; 33,086 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Portland are B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Portland
Portland is where the jobs are
Portland has 74,243 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 111,000 people are in town, 59% more than the 70,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Portland
25% of Portland workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Portland are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 25 across Maine. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maine worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Portland pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Portland pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Portland
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Portland is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #57 of 143 in Maine. Job access by car holds Portland’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portland could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Who leaves Portland for work, and who comes in
On a workday 16,884 residents head out to work and 16,202 work right here.
About 111,000 people are in Portland on a workday afternoon, 59% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip from Portland: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portland workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,965 commuters (the 25% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Portland
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portland, 2014 → 2024: 63,332 → 74,243. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Portland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into Portland
Where Portland clocks in
9% of workers
6% 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 distance from Portland to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #1 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Portland 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 39,834 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 62% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.4% of Portland households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Portland’s commuters take a bus or train.
352nd of 634: where Portland ranks among U.S. towns of 49,000 to 94,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | Woodland CA | 62,513 | $90K | 8.2% | 5.8% | 25% | B |
| 351 | Marietta GA | 63,574 | $73K | 12.8% | 3.8% | 13% | B |
| 352 | Portland ME | 69,911 | $80K | 11.2% | 4.2% | 49% | B |
| 353 | Cheektowaga NY | 88,160 | $69K | 10.9% | 3.7% | 16% | B |
| 354 | Kentwood MI | 54,776 | $74K | 10.4% | 4.5% | 14% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 634 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Portland, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Work next door: 17% of Portland’s workers
The biggest share goes to South Portland (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | – | B | A+ | 19 min | $79,540 |
| Westbrook | 6% | A− | A− | 19 min | $85,038 |
| Falmouth | 2% | A+ | C+ | 23 min | $150,919 |
| South Portland | 9% | A− | A+ | 17 min | $86,838 |
| Chebeague Island | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Long Island | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Cape Elizabeth | under 2% | A | C+ | 21 min | $145,821 |
Same-state neighbors only. Chebeague Island and Long Island: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Portland’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 2024, 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 Portland: questions
What is the median household income in Portland?
$79,540 (±$3,774) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portland?
11.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portland?
19 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portland work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Portland (9%, 5 mi), Westbrook (6%, 10 mi), Scarborough (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Portland walkable?
Portland is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 20% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portland without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 62% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Portland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portland
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.