Old York Gaol · Public domainHouseholds in York earn more than those in 89% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 5.8% of residents, against 10.7% across Maine. For jobs and income York is better than 82% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (B). Working from home is the commute for 26% of workers, next to 16% for Maine as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in York
Home offices are common in York
26% of York workers work from home, against 16% across Maine. Time on the road ↓
York’s workforce skews older
38% of York’s working residents are 55 or older. 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.
Where York’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income holds York’s grade up ($121,250, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 49% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, York could be anywhere from B to A.
Getting to work from York takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of York workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,662 commuters (the 26% 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 the 5,000 jobs in York are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in York, 2013 → 2023: 4,229 → 5,000. 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 York’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through York
On a workday 3,369 residents head out to work, 1,500 work right here, and 3,500 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Portsmouth
Where York clocks in
9% 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.
The distance from York to work
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 York walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 5.0% across Maine, on an EPA index of 6.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,303 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). 2.1% of York households have no vehicle (Maine 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of York’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, York is 631st among 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Falmouth ME | 12,982 | $151K | 2.3% | 2.7% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 629 | Hanover MA | 14,971 | $190K | 4.8% | 6.5% | 10% | A− |
| 630 | Stallings NC | 17,760 | $116K | 4.8% | 5.3% | 3% | A− |
| 631 | York ME | 14,293 | $121K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 31% | A− |
| 632 | Bedford NY | 16,933 | $196K | 8.9% | 4.4% | 10% | A− |
| 633 | Adams Township PA | 15,927 | $150K | 6.5% | 4.5% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 812 | Standish ME | 11,000 | $105K | 7.3% | 2.4% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 956 | Kennebunk ME | 12,152 | $108K | 7.3% | 4.4% | 21% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 York, the top three, the last and three more from Maine.
How York compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Kittery (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | York workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York | – | A− | B | 24 min | $121,250 |
| Kittery | 6% | B | A− | 20 min | $93,728 |
| Ogunquit | 2% | A− | C− | 26 min | $114,259 |
| Eliot | under 2% | A− | B− | 23 min | $101,522 |
| South Berwick | under 2% | B+ | C | 27 min | $99,572 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of York’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 York: questions
What is the median household income in York?
$121,250 (±$24,616) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in York?
5.8%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from York?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in York work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portsmouth (9%, 12 mi), Kittery (6%, 11 mi), Portland (6%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is York walkable?
York is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around York without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from York, from the people who make the trip.
More of York
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.