Work & commute · Bethel

Work & commute in Bethel, ME

About one in 3 of Bethel’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Portland (4%), Paris (3%) and Rumford (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

342 of 1,077 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

28%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 735 Bethel residents head out of town to work, 342 work right here, and 903 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bethel.

735live here, work elsewhere

342live and work here

903work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bethel goes to work

Bethel (in town)right here

32%342

Portland62.7 mi away

4%46

Paris18.7 mi away

3%33

Rumford10.1 mi away

3%32

Lewiston37.7 mi away

3%28

Bangor100 mi away

2%24

Auburn35.1 mi away

2%23

South Portland60.7 mi away

2%21

Augusta50.7 mi away

2%20

Newry7.4 mi away

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%489

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

How far

How far Bethel commutes

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

44%

18%

13%

25%

44%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bethel is balanced between jobs and homes

1.16jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bethel are

1,245 jobs are based in Bethel. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bethel’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bethel

1,245 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Bethel residents hold

1,077 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+18%

Jobs based in Bethel, 2013 → 2023: 1,058 → 1,245. 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.