College Club Inn · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Searsport earn less than those in 67% of U.S. towns
14.6% of residents are in poverty, where Maine as a whole has 10.7%. For jobs and income Searsport is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). The trip to work takes 22 minutes on average, next to 25 for Maine and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Searsport’s grade
Unemployment holds Searsport’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Searsport could be anywhere from D to B+.
A workday in Searsport: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 893 residents head out to work, 102 work right here, and 633 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.74 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.
22% of working residents work in Belfast
Where Searsport clocks in
22% of workers
12% of workers
3% 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 735 jobs in Searsport are
735 jobs are based in Searsport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Searsport, 2014 → 2024: 763 → 735. 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 Searsport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Searsport: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Searsport workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,191 commuters (the 20% 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.
Miles to work from Searsport
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
In Searsport, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.0% across Maine.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,493 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). 7.2% of Searsport households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Searsport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700, Searsport ranks 3,371st of 4,969 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 298 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 761 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 765 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,369 | Union OR | 2,118 | $65K | 18.9% | 1.7% | 8% | C |
| 3,370 | Newport ME | 3,192 | $60K | 12.6% | 4.0% | 19% | C |
| 3,371 | Searsport ME | 2,737 | $64K | 14.6% | 3.2% | 10% | C |
| 3,372 | Alstead NH | 1,928 | $65K | 8.9% | 3.0% | 5% | C |
| 3,373 | O'Neill NE | 3,567 | $57K | 18.5% | 0.5% | 9% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 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 Searsport, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
22% of Searsport works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Searsport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Searsport | – | C | C− | 22 min | $64,303 |
| Stockton Springs | under 2% | C− | C | 30 min | $74,886 |
| Belfast | 22% | B− | A− | 22 min | $67,679 |
| Prospect | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Swanville | under 2% | D− | B | 26 min | $51,935 |
| Islesboro | under 2% | — | — | 8 min | — |
| Castine | under 2% | C+ | A− | 14 min | $113,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Prospect and Islesboro: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Belfast. Darker towns draw more of Searsport’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 Searsport: questions
What is the median household income in Searsport?
$64,303 (±$18,867) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Searsport?
14.6%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Searsport?
22 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Searsport work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Belfast (22%, 6 mi), Bangor (12%, 26 mi), Brewer (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Searsport walkable?
Searsport is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Searsport without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Searsport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Searsport
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.