Winslow Homer Studio · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Scarborough’s household incomes are higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 4.4% of residents (Maine 10.7%). The two grades for Scarborough are A for jobs and income and B for walkability. 25% of workers work from home, against 16% across Maine.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Scarborough: the figures worth knowing
Most Scarborough residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Scarborough is where the jobs are
Scarborough has 17,229 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Scarborough
25% of Scarborough workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Scarborough 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 ↓
29% of Scarborough works in Portland
3,084 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Portland, 8.6 miles away. That’s more than work in Scarborough itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Scarborough
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Scarborough is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #3 of 143 in Maine. Household income is its strongest input ($133,558, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Scarborough could be anywhere from A to A+.
Miles to work from Scarborough
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.
Scarborough by day and by night
On a workday 8,799 residents head out to work, 1,947 work right here, and 15,282 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Scarborough on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 19 minutes each way for Scarborough’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scarborough workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,273 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.
The towns that send workers to Scarborough
Where Scarborough clocks in
29% of workers
11% 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.
67% of the jobs in Scarborough pay over $3,333 a month
17,229 jobs are based in Scarborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scarborough, 2014 → 2024: 13,921 → 17,229. 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 Scarborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Scarborough walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Scarborough is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #45 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Scarborough 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 12,294 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 1.7% of Scarborough households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Scarborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Scarborough ranks: 156th of 1,642 U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Keystone FL | 25,858 | $161K | 3.9% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| 155 | Germantown WI | 21,050 | $100K | 4.9% | 2.1% | 11% | A |
| 156 | Scarborough ME | 24,547 | $134K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 18% | A |
| 157 | Copley Township OH | 18,482 | $115K | 4.8% | 2.6% | 7% | A |
| 158 | Madison MS | 28,575 | $119K | 4.8% | 2.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Windham ME | 19,912 | $108K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 271 | Gorham ME | 19,239 | $112K | 3.7% | 2.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 456 | Saco ME | 21,159 | $92K | 6.4% | 2.1% | 15% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | 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 Scarborough, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
23% of Scarborough works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to South Portland (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scarborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | – | A | B | 19 min | $133,558 |
| Cape Elizabeth | under 2% | A | C+ | 21 min | $145,821 |
| Gorham | 2% | A | A− | 27 min | $112,312 |
| Saco | 3% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,241 |
| Old Orchard Beach | under 2% | C | A− | 22 min | $60,050 |
| Westbrook | 7% | A− | A− | 19 min | $85,038 |
| South Portland | 11% | A− | A+ | 17 min | $86,838 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Scarborough’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 Scarborough: questions
What is the median household income in Scarborough?
$133,558 (±$20,837) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scarborough?
4.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scarborough?
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 Scarborough work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (29%, 9 mi), South Portland (11%, 5 mi), Westbrook (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Scarborough walkable?
Scarborough is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scarborough without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scarborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scarborough
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.