Mill Cove School · Photo: Vanessa White · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of West Bath commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 383 jobs in West Bath for 826 working residents. For jobs and income West Bath is better than 81% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). Measured by household income, West Bath is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from West Bath, in brief
A lot of West Bath works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders West Bath: Bath (24%), Brunswick (12%) and Phippsburg (2%). Next door ↓
West Bath makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in West Bath are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Bath residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
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; with 826 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for West Bath
The poverty rate holds West Bath’s grade up (3.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (3.5%) is left out: West Bath’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Bath could be anywhere from B to A.
Goods jobs make up 37% of work in West Bath
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Bath, 2013 → 2023: 284 → 383. 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 West Bath’s own residents hold wherever they work.
West Bath by day and by night
On a workday 790 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 347 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in West Bath on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
24% of working residents work in Bath
Where West Bath clocks in
24% of workers
12% of workers
11% 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.
How long West Bath spends getting to work: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Bath workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 768 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from West Bath
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.
In West Bath, most people drive to work
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 926 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). 4.1% of West Bath households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Bath’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700, West Bath ranks 698th of 5,509 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 280 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 579 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 631 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 696 | Spencer Township OH | 1,754 | $85K | 4.6% | 3.0% | 5% | A− |
| 697 | Pike Township OH | 1,707 | $95K | 3.6% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| 698 | West Bath ME | 1,970 | $103K | 3.2% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| 699 | Cade LA | 1,710 | $73K | 6.0% | 1.5% | 2% | A− |
| 700 | Mississippi Township IL | 1,699 | $85K | 2.3% | 6.9% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | 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 West Bath, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns next door employ 38% of West Bath
The biggest share goes to Bath (24%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Bath workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bath | – | A− | C− | 21 min | $103,333 |
| Bath | 24% | C+ | A | 24 min | $69,390 |
| Brunswick | 12% | B | A | 23 min | $74,952 |
| Phippsburg | 2% | B+ | C+ | 21 min | $107,833 |
| Harpswell | under 3% | A− | C− | 30 min | $96,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Bath’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 West Bath: questions
What is the median household income in West Bath?
$103,333 (±$27,297) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Bath?
3.2%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Bath?
21 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Bath work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bath (24%, 4 mi), Brunswick (12%, 6 mi), Portland (11%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Bath walkable?
West Bath is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Bath without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Bath, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Bath
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.