Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainWith 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Shapleigh works elsewhere
Employers in Shapleigh report 261 jobs, and 1,292 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Shapleigh B; getting around on foot earns it C. Only 2% stay in Shapleigh for work; outside it, Sanford is the main destination (12%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Shapleigh apart
Shapleigh is a place people come home to
There are 261 jobs based in Shapleigh, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Shapleigh has about 2,000 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Shapleigh workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The four measures behind Shapleigh’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shapleigh is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #62 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds Shapleigh’s grade up (5.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 9% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shapleigh could be anywhere from C to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Shapleigh
On a workday 1,260 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 229 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Shapleigh on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer 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.
Commuting from Shapleigh: about 33 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shapleigh workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,199 commuters (the 13% 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.
Commuting out of Shapleigh: the destinations
Where Shapleigh clocks in
12% of workers
9% 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.
The kinds of work in Shapleigh
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shapleigh, 2014 → 2024: 136 → 261. 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 Shapleigh’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Shapleigh
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.
The commute in Shapleigh is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shapleigh is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #92 of 143 in Maine. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,378 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). 1.1% of Shapleigh households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shapleigh’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Shapleigh ranks: 1,771st of 4,771 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 940 | Orrington ME | 3,912 | $95K | 6.6% | 1.7% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,013 | Kennebunkport ME | 3,717 | $103K | 4.6% | 3.7% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,769 | East Oakdale CA | 2,269 | $120K | 11.9% | 1.6% | 1% | B |
| 1,770 | Lula GA | 3,048 | $69K | 10.9% | 2.3% | 1% | B |
| 1,771 | Shapleigh ME | 3,025 | $88K | 5.3% | 2.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,772 | Stafford NY | 2,386 | $88K | 7.8% | 4.5% | 3% | B |
| 1,773 | Kurtistown HI | 3,151 | $96K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Shapleigh, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door is work for 15% of Shapleigh
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Sanford. Darker towns draw more of Shapleigh’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 Shapleigh: questions
What is the median household income in Shapleigh?
$88,140 (±$9,130) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shapleigh?
5.3%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shapleigh?
33 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shapleigh work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sanford (12%, 10 mi), Portland (9%, 33 mi), North Berwick (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Shapleigh walkable?
Shapleigh is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shapleigh without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shapleigh, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shapleigh
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.