Work & commute · Benton

Work & commute in Benton, ME

Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Waterville (24%), Augusta (13%) and Fairfield (8%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53 of 1,289 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,236 Benton residents head out of town to work, 53 work right here, and 460 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Benton.

1,236live here, work elsewhere

53live and work here

460work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Benton goes to work

Waterville7.7 mi away

24%309

Augusta20.6 mi away

13%166

Fairfield8.2 mi away

8%99

Winslow5.5 mi away

6%78

Skowhegan13.9 mi away

5%60

Oakland10.6 mi away

4%57

Benton (in town)right here

4%53

Portland74 mi away

3%37

Clinton5.3 mi away

2%28

Bangor39.4 mi away

2%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%379

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Benton commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

47%

25%

12%

16%

47%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Benton is a commuter town

0.40jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.40 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Benton are

513 jobs are based in Benton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Benton

513 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Benton residents hold

1,289 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−11%

Jobs based in Benton, 2013 → 2023: 574 → 513. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.