Work & commute · Saco

Work & commute in Saco, ME

Most working residents leave Saco for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Portland (20%), Biddeford (10%) and South Portland (8%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

1,512 of 10,658 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,146 Saco residents head out of town to work, 1,512 work right here, and 6,555 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Saco.

9,146live here, work elsewhere

1,512live and work here

6,555work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Saco goes to work

Portland13.8 mi away

20%2,123

Saco (in town)right here

14%1,512

Biddeford6.3 mi away

10%1,042

South Portland9.8 mi away

8%899

Scarborough5.2 mi away

8%855

Westbrook12.9 mi away

5%555

Kennebunk12.7 mi away

2%255

Old Orchard Beach3.2 mi away

2%166

Falmouth16.3 mi away

1%159

Sanford18.4 mi away

1%153

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%2,939

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

How far

How far Saco commutes

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

40%

41%

40%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Saco is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Saco are

8,067 jobs are based in Saco. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Saco’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Saco

8,067 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Saco residents hold

10,658 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month66%

+23%

Jobs based in Saco, 2013 → 2023: 6,532 → 8,067. 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.