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Work & commute in Falmouth · Balanced

87% of Falmouth’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Falmouth for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Portland (36%), South Portland (8%) and Westbrook (6%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Work in town
13%
717 of 5,498 working residents
Typical commute
7 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
23 min
Less than ME (25 min)
Work from home
34%
More than ME (16%)
Jobs based here
7,204
Balanced

What kind of work town is Falmouth?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Next door

42% of Falmouth works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Portland (36%). Darker towns draw more of Falmouth’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

Time on the road

About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Maine

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
173 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Falmouth23 min
Maine25 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
34%

of Falmouth workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.

About 3 in 10

How Falmouth ranks on commute time →

How far

Half of Falmouth commutes less than 7 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi55 miPortland: 36% · 8.7 miSouth Portland: 8% · 7.5 miWestbrook: 6% · 4.4 miScarborough: 3% · 12 miYarmouth: 3% · 6.9 miLewiston: 3% · 24.7 miFreeport: 3% · 11.8 miBrunswick: 2% · 18.6 miAugusta: 2% · 49.1 miPortland 36%South Portland 8%Westbrook 6%Scarborough 3%Yarmouth 3%Falmouth
FalmouthTop destinations (size = commuters)
69%Under 10 mi3,804 residents
15%10–24 mi816 residents
7%25–50 mi406 residents
9%Over 50 mi470 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

7,204 jobs are based in Falmouth. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Falmouth’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in FalmouthJobs Falmouth residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms5%11%
Trade, transport & utilities15%16%
Services: health, schools, offices80%73%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less12%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month22%15%
Over $3,333 a month66%73%

Who does it

29 or younger22%15%
30 to 5452%52%
55 and older27%33%
+21%

Jobs based in Falmouth, 2013 → 2023: 5,932 → 7,204. 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.

Day and night

Falmouth fills up on a workday

On a workday 4,781 residents head out to work, 717 work right here, and 6,487 people come in from elsewhere.

4,781live here, work elsewhere
717live and work here
6,487work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night13,000
Workday14,000
13,000live here− 4,800head out to work+ 6,500come in to work= 14,000on a workday

About 14,000 people are in Falmouth on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.31jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 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.

The commute map

36% of working residents work in Portland

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

South Portland: 437 residents work here (8%)Westbrook: 331 residents work here (6%)Portland: 1,969 residents work here (36%)Lewiston: 153 residents work here (3%)Augusta: 86 residents work here (2%)Scarborough: 180 residents work here (3%)WindhamLong IslandFalmouthCumberlandBrunswick: 109 residents work here (2%)Freeport: 144 residents work here (3%)GorhamYarmouth: 155 residents work here (3%)PortlandSouth PortlandWestbrookScarboroughYarmouthLewistonFalmouth
1
Portland8.7 mi away
36%1,969
2
Falmouth (in town)right here
13%717
3
South Portland7.5 mi away
8%437
4
Westbrook4.4 mi away
6%331
5
Scarborough12 mi away
3%180
6
Yarmouth6.9 mi away
3%155
7
Lewiston24.7 mi away
3%153
8
Freeport11.8 mi away
3%144
9
Brunswick18.6 mi away
2%109
10
Augusta49.1 mi away
2%86
Everywhere elseother towns and states
22%1,217
The top trips

Where Falmouth clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Falmouth

Falmouth home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Falmouth, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Falmouth worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

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.

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