Work & commute · Long Island

Work & commute in Long Island, ME

Most working residents leave Long Island for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Portland (56%), Scarborough (7%) and South Portland (6%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 96 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 91 Long Island residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Long Island.

91live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

22work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Long Island goes to work

Portland3.4 mi away

56%54

Scarborough11.6 mi away

7%7

South Portland7.3 mi away

6%6

Long Island (in town)right here

5%5

Falmouth7.5 mi away

4%4

Westbrook10.1 mi away

3%3

Bangor104.5 mi away

2%2

Freeport12.1 mi away

2%2

Hallowell45.4 mi away

1%1

Lewiston28.5 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

11%11

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

How far

How far Long Island commutes

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

76%

13%

76%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Long Island is a commuter town

0.28jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Long Island are

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

Jobs based in Long Island

27 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less33%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month26%

Jobs Long Island residents hold

96 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+286%

Jobs based in Long Island, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 27. 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.