Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Making a living in Sanford
Sanford grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in five work in Sanford; the top destination outside it is Portland (7%, 32 miles). 10% of workers have no commute at all, against 16% across Maine.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Sanford’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sanford is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #83 of 143 in Maine. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Sanford’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sanford could be anywhere from C to B+.
In and out of Sanford on a workday
On a workday 8,463 residents head out to work, 2,355 work right here, and 4,946 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Sanford on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from Sanford work
Where Sanford clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
What the 7,301 jobs in Sanford are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sanford, 2014 → 2024: 6,481 → 7,301. 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 Sanford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Sanford: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sanford workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,179 commuters (the 10% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Sanford
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.
Few in Sanford walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sanford is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #43 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Sanford 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 11,280 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). 5.9% of Sanford households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Sanford’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Sanford is 1,162nd of 1,712 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Scarborough ME | 24,547 | $134K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 18% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Windham ME | 19,912 | $108K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 283 | Gorham ME | 19,239 | $112K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,160 | Bloomington CA | 25,698 | $82K | 15.6% | 6.4% | 3% | B− |
| 1,161 | On Top of the World FL | 16,007 | $61K | 7.0% | 3.6% | 4% | B− |
| 1,162 | Sanford ME | 22,663 | $73K | 10.3% | 3.7% | 22% | B− |
| 1,163 | Wood River Township IL | 29,456 | $62K | 14.2% | 3.9% | 18% | B− |
| 1,164 | Dickinson ND | 25,870 | $83K | 13.6% | 3.2% | 51% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Sanford, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Sanford
The biggest share goes to North Berwick (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sanford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford | – | B− | B | 28 min | $72,524 |
| Alfred | under 3% | B | C− | 28 min | $82,321 |
| North Berwick | 5% | A− | C | 31 min | $101,875 |
| Lebanon | under 3% | B+ | C− | 35 min | $97,750 |
| Shapleigh | under 3% | B | C | 33 min | $88,140 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sanford’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 Sanford: questions
What is the median household income in Sanford?
$72,524 (±$7,262) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sanford?
10.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sanford?
28 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sanford work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (7%, 32 mi), Biddeford (5%, 18 mi), North Berwick (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Sanford walkable?
Sanford is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sanford without a car?
2% 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 Sanford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sanford
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.