Work & commute · Sanford

Work & commute in Sanford, ME

About one in 5 of Sanford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Portland (7%), North Berwick (5%) and Biddeford (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

2,342 of 10,444 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,102 Sanford residents head out of town to work, 2,342 work right here, and 4,791 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sanford.

8,102live here, work elsewhere

2,342live and work here

4,791work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sanford goes to work

Sanford (in town)right here

22%2,342

Portland32.1 mi away

7%783

North Berwick5.1 mi away

5%560

Biddeford18.3 mi away

5%504

Kennebunk10.4 mi away

4%468

Wells10 mi away

4%428

Scarborough23.5 mi away

3%357

South Portland27.6 mi away

3%322

Saco18.4 mi away

3%262

Portsmouth, NH25.1 mi away

2%241

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%4,177

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

How far

How far Sanford commutes

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

32%

22%

13%

32%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

22%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sanford is a commuter town

0.68jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sanford are

7,133 jobs are based in Sanford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sanford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sanford

7,133 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Sanford residents hold

10,444 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−0%

Jobs based in Sanford, 2013 → 2023: 7,135 → 7,133. 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.