Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Saco has lower unemployment (2.1%) than 83% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Saco A−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Household incomes here are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns. Commuters spend 24 minutes getting to work on average; the Maine average is 25, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Saco
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saco is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #9 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saco could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Saco
On a workday 9,146 residents head out to work, 1,512 work right here, and 6,555 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Saco on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
20% of working residents work in Portland
Where Saco clocks in
20% of workers
10% 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.
Inside Saco’s 8,067 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saco, 2013 → 2023: 6,532 → 8,067. 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 Saco’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes to work from Saco
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saco workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,306 commuters (the 19% 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.
Saco’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Saco is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saco is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #38 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Saco 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 11,492 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). 5.4% of Saco households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Saco’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,787 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 29,000, Saco comes 490th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 177 | Scarborough ME | 24,547 | $134K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 210 | Windham ME | 19,912 | $108K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 299 | Gorham ME | 19,239 | $112K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 488 | Anthem AZ | 22,584 | $121K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 6% | A− |
| 489 | Chester VA | 24,474 | $95K | 8.1% | 2.5% | 4% | A− |
| 490 | Saco ME | 21,159 | $92K | 6.4% | 2.1% | 14% | A− |
| 491 | Santaquin UT | 18,989 | $100K | 3.9% | 2.1% | 7% | A− |
| 492 | Northdale FL | 25,710 | $95K | 5.7% | 3.6% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,787 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Saco, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Saco and its neighbors: 20% work next door
The biggest share goes to Biddeford (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saco workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saco | – | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,241 |
| Old Orchard Beach | 2% | C | A− | 22 min | $60,050 |
| Biddeford | 10% | B− | A | 24 min | $72,333 |
| Dayton | under 2% | A | C | 31 min | $113,750 |
| Scarborough | 8% | A | B | 19 min | $133,558 |
| Buxton | under 2% | A | C | 34 min | $100,144 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saco’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 Saco: questions
What is the median household income in Saco?
$92,241 (±$10,901) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saco?
6.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saco?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saco work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (20%, 14 mi), Biddeford (10%, 6 mi), South Portland (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saco walkable?
Saco is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saco without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saco, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saco
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.