Photo: Mark Boutilier · CC BY 2.0Most of West Paris commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. West Paris has 225 jobs, against 843 working residents. Jobs and income earn West Paris D; getting around on foot earns it C.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
West Paris and work: the main findings
West Paris is a place people come home to
There are 225 jobs based in West Paris, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday West Paris has about 1,200 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
West Paris workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of West Paris works from home
24% of West Paris workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
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 843 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why West Paris gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, West Paris is better than 5% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides West Paris’ grade.
Unemployment (4.5%) is left out: West Paris’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 Paris could be anywhere from D− to D.
Who leaves West Paris for work, and who comes in
On a workday 787 residents head out to work, 56 work right here, and 169 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in West Paris on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
Getting to work from West Paris takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Paris workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 578 commuters (the 24% 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.
10% of working residents work in Paris
Where West Paris clocks in
10% of workers
9% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 43% of the jobs in West Paris
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Paris, 2014 → 2024: 279 → 225. 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 Paris’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far West Paris goes to work
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
In West Paris, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Paris is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place West Paris 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 759 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). 11.0% of West Paris households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Paris’ commuters take a bus or train.
How West Paris compares with U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 277 | Dayton ME | 2,182 | $114K | 3.7% | 0.2% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 579 | Ogunquit ME | 1,606 | $114K | 3.2% | 0.0% | 24% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 631 | Pownal ME | 1,645 | $104K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,533 | Milford Township IL | 1,437 | $54K | 18.8% | 2.6% | 12% | D |
| 5,534 | Union Township IN | 1,256 | $44K | 18.1% | 7.0% | 10% | D |
| 5,535 | West Paris ME | 1,773 | $56K | 24.1% | 4.5% | 7% | D |
| 5,536 | Fredonia AZ | 1,290 | $63K | 24.3% | 6.0% | 12% | D |
| 5,537 | Cave City AR | 1,987 | $50K | 19.7% | 4.7% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | 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 Paris, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Work next door: 10% of West Paris’ workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Paris workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Paris | – | D | C | 32 min | $56,324 |
| Woodstock | under 3% | C− | D | 29 min | $63,015 |
| Paris | 10% | B− | B− | 22 min | $75,137 |
| Sumner | under 3% | C | C+ | 42 min | $57,750 |
| Greenwood | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Greenwood: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Paris. Darker towns draw more of West Paris’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 West Paris: questions
What is the median household income in West Paris?
$56,324 (±$5,244) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Paris?
24.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Paris?
32 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Paris work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paris (10%, 5 mi), Portland (9%, 50 mi), Norway (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Paris walkable?
West Paris is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Paris without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Paris, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Paris
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.