Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainTopsham has higher household incomes than 69% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Topsham for work; outside it, Brunswick is the main destination (16%, 5 miles). 6.4% of residents live below the poverty line, where Maine as a whole has 10.7%. The two grades for Topsham are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Topsham: the gist
Topsham trades workers with the towns around it
Topsham has about as many jobs (3,674) as working residents (4,331), but they are mostly different people: 3,754 residents leave for work each day while 3,097 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Topsham are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Topsham and Brunswick trade workers both ways
Brunswick is the top workplace for Topsham residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Topsham come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Where Topsham’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate holds Topsham’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Topsham could be anywhere from B− to A.
The daily flow of workers through Topsham
On a workday 3,754 residents head out to work, 577 work right here, and 3,097 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.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).
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 Topsham’s residents
Where Topsham clocks in
16% of workers
12% of workers
8% 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 Topsham
3,674 jobs are based in Topsham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Topsham, 2013 → 2023: 3,294 → 3,674. 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 Topsham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Topsham’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Topsham workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,861 commuters (the 17% 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.
Half of Topsham commutes less than 15 miles
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.
Most trips from Topsham start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Topsham is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #53 of 143 in Maine. Both inputs place Topsham 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 4,665 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). 4.8% of Topsham households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Topsham’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 13,500, Topsham ranks 1,116th of 2,744 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 83 | Cumberland ME | 8,876 | $174K | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Falmouth ME | 12,982 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.7% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Cape Elizabeth ME | 9,827 | $146K | 5.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,114 | Lely Resort FL | 8,582 | $94K | 9.8% | 3.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,115 | Island Lake IL | 8,047 | $103K | 6.7% | 6.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,116 | Topsham ME | 9,982 | $91K | 6.4% | 4.3% | 13% | B+ |
| 1,117 | The Village OK | 9,276 | $77K | 11.6% | 3.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,118 | Scappoose OR | 8,257 | $98K | 7.2% | 2.1% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,744 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Topsham, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
24% of Topsham works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Topsham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topsham | – | B+ | B− | 24 min | $91,028 |
| Lisbon Falls | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Lisbon | under 3% | A− | C+ | 29 min | $77,819 |
| Brunswick | 16% | B | A | 23 min | $74,952 |
| Bowdoinham | under 3% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $108,479 |
| Durham | under 3% | B | D | 28 min | $99,181 |
| Bath | 8% | C+ | A | 24 min | $69,390 |
| Bowdoin | under 3% | B+ | D− | 32 min | $91,239 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lisbon Falls: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Brunswick. Darker towns draw more of Topsham’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 Topsham: questions
What is the median household income in Topsham?
$91,028 (±$9,915) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Topsham?
6.4%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Topsham?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Topsham work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brunswick (16%, 5 mi), Portland (12%, 26 mi), Bath (8%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Topsham walkable?
Topsham is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Topsham without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Topsham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Topsham
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.