Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0Work, pay and getting to work in West Kennebunk
Working residents average 31 minutes each way, where Maine has 25 and the U.S. 26. Only 5% stay in West Kennebunk for work; outside it, Kennebunk is the main destination (24%, 3 miles). Employers in West Kennebunk report 982 jobs; 652 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West Kennebunk, in a few figures
West Kennebunk is where the jobs are
West Kennebunk has 982 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
West Kennebunk’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside West Kennebunk is Portland, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (83) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
West Kennebunk makes and builds things
43% of the jobs based in West Kennebunk are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Kennebunk residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 652 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many people are in West Kennebunk by day
On a workday 620 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 950 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in West Kennebunk on a workday afternoon, 24% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from West Kennebunk
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.
A place that makes things: 43% of West Kennebunk’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Kennebunk, 2014 → 2024: 657 → 982. 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 West Kennebunk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where West Kennebunk’s workforce comes from
Where West Kennebunk clocks in
24% of workers
13% 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.
Time on the road from West Kennebunk: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Kennebunk workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 463 commuters (the 21% 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.
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 West Kennebunk: questions
What is the median household income in West Kennebunk?
$124,167 (±$45,825) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Kennebunk?
7.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Kennebunk?
31 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Kennebunk work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kennebunk (24%, 3 mi), Portland (13%, 25 mi), Biddeford (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around West Kennebunk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Kennebunk, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Kennebunk
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.