Work & commute · Brewer

Work & commute in Brewer, ME

Most working residents leave Brewer for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Bangor (43%), Hampden (3%) and Augusta (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

807 of 4,636 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 3,829 Brewer residents head out of town to work, 807 work right here, and 6,161 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Brewer.

3,829live here, work elsewhere

807live and work here

6,161work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Brewer goes to work

Bangor4.1 mi away

43%2,014

Brewer (in town)right here

17%807

Hampden8.1 mi away

3%133

Augusta58.2 mi away

3%125

Orono6.7 mi away

3%119

Hermon9.3 mi away

3%117

Ellsworth18.7 mi away

2%88

Portland107.2 mi away

1%61

Old Town11.7 mi away

1%56

Bar Harbor35.4 mi away

1%47

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%1,069

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

How far

How far Brewer commutes

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

71%

16%

71%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Brewer is a job hub

1.50jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Brewer are

6,968 jobs are based in Brewer. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brewer’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Brewer

6,968 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Brewer residents hold

4,636 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+21%

Jobs based in Brewer, 2013 → 2023: 5,774 → 6,968. 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.