Clary Mill · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0At 1.3%, unemployment in Whitefield is lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 30 minutes each way, next to 25 for Maine and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Whitefield are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 3% stay in Whitefield for work; outside it, Augusta is the main destination (19%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Whitefield and work: the main findings
Whitefield is a place people come home to
There are 229 jobs based in Whitefield, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Whitefield has about 1,700 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Whitefield than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Whitefield fell from 353 in 2013 to 229 in 2023, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Whitefield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 25 across Maine. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 935 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Whitefield earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Whitefield is better than 62% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Whitefield’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whitefield could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Whitefield
On a workday 907 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 201 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Whitefield on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.24 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A place that makes things: 33% of Whitefield’s jobs are in goods
229 jobs are based in Whitefield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whitefield, 2013 → 2023: 353 → 229. 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 Whitefield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 30 minutes to work from Whitefield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whitefield workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 883 commuters (the 14% 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.
Out of Whitefield to work: where people go
Where Whitefield clocks in
19% of workers
6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Whitefield
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.
Few in Whitefield walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Whitefield is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Whitefield 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 1,021 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). 2.6% of Whitefield households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Whitefield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Whitefield next to U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300: 1,623rd 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− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,621 | Glasgow MT | 3,145 | $90K | 8.0% | 0.5% | 52% | B |
| 1,622 | Athens Township MI | 2,458 | $63K | 5.4% | 2.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,623 | Whitefield ME | 2,410 | $74K | 7.1% | 1.3% | 3% | B |
| 1,624 | Shutesbury MA | 1,705 | $123K | 3.3% | 6.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,625 | Lake of the Woods IL | 2,091 | $62K | 4.7% | 6.2% | <1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Whitefield, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
Next door to Whitefield
The biggest share goes to Jefferson (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whitefield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitefield | – | B | C− | 30 min | $73,875 |
| Alna | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Jefferson | 6% | B− | C+ | 30 min | $85,078 |
| Pittston | under 3% | B+ | D− | 26 min | $86,614 |
| Chelsea | 3% | B | C+ | 36 min | $85,471 |
| Windsor | under 3% | C+ | C− | 36 min | $63,178 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alna: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Whitefield’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 Whitefield: questions
What is the median household income in Whitefield?
$73,875 (±$10,159) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whitefield?
7.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whitefield?
30 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whitefield work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Augusta (19%, 11 mi), Jefferson (6%, 6 mi), Bath (6%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Whitefield walkable?
Whitefield is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whitefield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whitefield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whitefield
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.