Powers House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Sidney commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Only 5% stay in Sidney for work; outside it, Augusta is the main destination (30%, 7 miles). 466 jobs are based in Sidney for 2,298 working residents. Sidney grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sidney, in a few figures
A lot of Sidney works one town over
34% of working residents work in a town that borders Sidney: Augusta (30%) and Oakland (4%). Next door ↓
Sidney is a place people come home to
There are 466 jobs based in Sidney, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sidney has about 3,100 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Sidney
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sidney is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #81 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds Sidney’s grade up (6.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sidney could be anywhere from C to A−.
How many people are in Sidney by day
On a workday 2,174 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 342 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Sidney on a workday afternoon, 37% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Sidney’s residents
Where Sidney clocks in
30% of workers
12% of workers
4% 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.
Jobs in Sidney: what the 466 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sidney, 2013 → 2023: 276 → 466. 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 Sidney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Sidney
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sidney workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,962 commuters (the 14% 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.
How many miles Sidney commutes
About 16% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Sidney walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sidney is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns, #124 of 143 in Maine. 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 2,290 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). 0.4% of Sidney households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sidney’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sidney next to U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,700: 1,955th of 3,692 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 758 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,953 | Chesterfield NH | 3,684 | $102K | 8.6% | 5.3% | 5% | B− |
| 1,954 | Scott City MO | 4,593 | $63K | 11.2% | 2.0% | 11% | B− |
| 1,955 | Sidney ME | 4,929 | $83K | 6.4% | 5.4% | 5% | B− |
| 1,956 | Kahaluu-Keauhou HI | 5,150 | $96K | 8.6% | 3.9% | 5% | B− |
| 1,957 | Aspen CO | 6,489 | $74K | 10.6% | 2.4% | 51% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,692 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Sidney, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Sidney and its neighbors: 34% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sidney workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney | – | B− | D | 25 min | $83,488 |
| Vassalboro | under 2% | C | D | 31 min | $72,300 |
| Belgrade | under 2% | B− | D | 23 min | $88,338 |
| Augusta | 30% | C− | A− | 19 min | $47,979 |
| Oakland | 4% | B | C− | 27 min | $77,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Augusta. Darker towns draw more of Sidney’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 Sidney: questions
What is the median household income in Sidney?
$83,488 (±$9,776) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sidney?
6.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sidney?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sidney work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (30%, 7 mi), Waterville (12%, 9 mi), Oakland (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sidney walkable?
Sidney is more walkable than 14% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sidney 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 Sidney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sidney
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.