Work & commute · Houlton

Work & commute in Houlton, ME

56% of Houlton’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Presque Isle (4%), Bangor (4%) and Caribou (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

56%

1,295 of 2,298 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

10 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 1,003 Houlton residents head out of town to work, 1,295 work right here, and 2,081 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Houlton.

1,003live here, work elsewhere

1,295live and work here

2,081work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Houlton goes to work

Houlton (in town)right here

56%1,295

Presque Isle38.5 mi away

4%99

Bangor101.5 mi away

4%96

Caribou48.3 mi away

2%57

New Limerick6.6 mi away

2%51

Augusta155 mi away

2%44

Linneus8.8 mi away

2%41

Portland207.7 mi away

1%28

Oakfield13.8 mi away

1%26

Littleton6.6 mi away

1%26

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%535

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

How far

How far Houlton commutes

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

63%

27%

63%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Houlton is balanced between jobs and homes

1.47jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Houlton are

3,376 jobs are based in Houlton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Houlton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Houlton

3,376 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Houlton residents hold

2,298 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−14%

Jobs based in Houlton, 2013 → 2023: 3,947 → 3,376. 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.