Nickels-Sortwell House · Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0Wiscasset has lower unemployment (2.6%) than 76% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Wiscasset; the top destination outside it is Bath (15%, 10 miles). Jobs and income earn Wiscasset B; getting around on foot earns it C. The average commute, 25 minutes each way, matches the Maine norm.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs & income in Wiscasset: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wiscasset is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #64 of 143 in Maine. Unemployment holds Wiscasset’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, Wiscasset could be anywhere from C− to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Wiscasset
On a workday 1,379 residents head out to work, 198 work right here, and 980 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,600 people are in Wiscasset on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.75 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.
The towns that employ Wiscasset’s residents
Where Wiscasset clocks in
15% of workers
6% 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.
What Wiscasset’s employers do
1,178 jobs are based in Wiscasset.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wiscasset, 2013 → 2023: 1,324 → 1,178. 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 Wiscasset’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, about the ME average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wiscasset workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,291 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.
Miles to work from Wiscasset
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.
For most of Wiscasset, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wiscasset is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #94 of 143 in Maine. 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 1,643 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 Wiscasset households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wiscasset’s commuters take a bus or train.
Wiscasset is 1,779th of 4,177 U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 347 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 748 | Arundel ME | 4,596 | $102K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 784 | Hollis ME | 5,003 | $96K | 5.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,777 | Grundy Center IA | 2,814 | $80K | 11.1% | 1.5% | 27% | B |
| 1,778 | Brillion WI | 3,327 | $58K | 12.8% | 0.0% | 23% | B |
| 1,779 | Wiscasset ME | 3,998 | $71K | 5.7% | 2.6% | 13% | B |
| 1,780 | Brutus NY | 4,224 | $77K | 15.2% | 1.2% | 9% | B |
| 1,781 | Lower Towamensing Township PA | 3,113 | $69K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wiscasset, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
The towns around Wiscasset
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wiscasset workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiscasset | – | B | C | 25 min | $71,118 |
| Woolwich | under 2% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $102,175 |
| Alna | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Westport Island | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Edgecomb | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 22 min | $108,750 |
| Newcastle | under 2% | A− | B+ | 17 min | $89,868 |
| Dresden | under 2% | B− | D | 33 min | $74,844 |
Same-state neighbors only. Alna and Westport Island: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wiscasset’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 Wiscasset: questions
What is the median household income in Wiscasset?
$71,118 (±$37,473) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wiscasset?
5.7%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wiscasset?
25 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wiscasset work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bath (15%, 10 mi), Portland (6%, 36 mi), Augusta (6%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wiscasset walkable?
Wiscasset is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wiscasset 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 Wiscasset, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wiscasset
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.