Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Most of South Berwick commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Measured by household income, South Berwick is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. There are 1,199 jobs in South Berwick, and 3,421 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for South Berwick are B+ for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from South Berwick, in brief
Why South Berwick gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Berwick is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #36 of 143 in Maine. The poverty rate holds South Berwick’s grade up (3.4%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Berwick could be anywhere from B− to A.
11% of working residents work in Portsmouth
Where South Berwick clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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.
In and out of South Berwick on a workday
On a workday 3,049 residents head out to work, 372 work right here, and 827 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in South Berwick on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
What South Berwick’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Berwick, 2014 → 2024: 1,019 → 1,199. 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 South Berwick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from South Berwick
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Berwick workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,268 commuters (the 18% 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 far South Berwick goes to work
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 South Berwick is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Berwick is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns, #77 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place South Berwick 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 3,964 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). 1.4% of South Berwick households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of South Berwick’s commuters take a bus or train.
South Berwick is 1,112th of 2,981 U.S. towns of 5,600 to 10,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 310 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 369 | Buxton ME | 8,681 | $100K | 2.3% | 1.4% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,110 | St. Clair Township MI | 7,159 | $93K | 5.3% | 4.3% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,111 | Windcrest TX | 5,809 | $90K | 10.4% | 4.7% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,112 | South Berwick ME | 7,941 | $100K | 3.4% | 5.1% | 11% | B+ |
| 1,113 | Alden NY | 10,262 | $91K | 5.0% | 5.5% | 11% | B+ |
| 1,114 | Ewa Villages HI | 7,415 | $89K | 15.3% | 2.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,981 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 South Berwick, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
South Berwick and its neighbors: 23% work next door
The biggest share goes to York (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Berwick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Berwick | – | B+ | C | 27 min | $99,572 |
| Eliot | 4% | A− | B− | 23 min | $101,522 |
| Berwick | 3% | A− | C− | 30 min | $94,771 |
| York | 7% | A− | B | 24 min | $121,250 |
| Wells | under 3% | B− | B− | 28 min | $88,024 |
| North Berwick | 3% | A− | C | 31 min | $101,875 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Berwick’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 South Berwick: questions
What is the median household income in South Berwick?
$99,572 (±$12,689) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Berwick?
3.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Berwick?
27 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Berwick work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portsmouth (11%, 12 mi), York (7%, 9 mi), Kittery (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Berwick walkable?
South Berwick is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Berwick without a car?
<1% 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 South Berwick, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Berwick
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.