Photo: Public domain · Public domainUnion has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 428 jobs in Union; 979 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Union are C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in ten work in Union itself; outside it, Rockland draws the most (12%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Union, in brief
Jobs & income in Union: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Union is better than 43% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Union’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Union could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Jobs in Union: what the 428 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 326 → 428. 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 Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Union
On a workday 888 residents head out to work, 91 work right here, and 337 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Union on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Out of Union to work: where people go
Where Union clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
7% 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.
Getting to work from Union takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,080 commuters (the 16% 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 it is to work from Union
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 Union start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 6.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,284 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). 2.1% of Union households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Union’s commuters take a bus or train.
Union next to U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300: 2,692nd of 5,207 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 297 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 738 | Newcastle ME | 1,915 | $90K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 743 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,690 | Barrett TX | 3,273 | $48K | 34.0% | 9.6% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,691 | Henry IL | 2,280 | $66K | 14.1% | 2.7% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,692 | Union ME | 2,444 | $81K | 10.2% | 3.2% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,693 | Shelburne MA | 1,868 | $83K | 10.4% | 4.0% | 12% | C+ |
| 2,694 | Spaulding Township MI | 1,914 | $62K | 11.4% | 4.4% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Union, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
How Union compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Warren (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | – | C+ | B− | 29 min | $80,724 |
| Washington | under 3% | D | C− | 32 min | $59,861 |
| Warren | 4% | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $74,616 |
| Appleton | under 3% | C− | D | 30 min | $53,618 |
| Hope | under 3% | B− | B− | 20 min | $86,766 |
| Waldoboro | 4% | B− | C− | 25 min | $69,107 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Union’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 Union: questions
What is the median household income in Union?
$80,724 (±$8,800) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union?
10.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union?
29 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockland (12%, 11 mi), Rockport (9%, 10 mi), Augusta (7%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Union walkable?
Union is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Union, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union
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.