Work & commute · Wells

Work & commute in Wells, ME

Most working residents leave Wells for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Portland (8%), Kennebunk (7%) and York (6%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

862 of 4,672 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,810 Wells residents head out of town to work, 862 work right here, and 2,619 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wells.

3,810live here, work elsewhere

862live and work here

2,619work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wells goes to work

Wells (in town)right here

18%862

Portland31.6 mi away

8%374

Kennebunk5.7 mi away

7%304

York10.3 mi away

6%295

Sanford10 mi away

5%227

Biddeford14.9 mi away

4%170

Portsmouth, NH18.8 mi away

3%161

Ogunquit6 mi away

3%156

South Portland28.1 mi away

3%151

North Berwick7.9 mi away

3%138

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%1,834

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

How far

How far Wells commutes

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

37%

28%

21%

14%

37%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wells is a commuter town

0.75jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wells are

3,481 jobs are based in Wells. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wells’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wells

3,481 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Wells residents hold

4,672 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+23%

Jobs based in Wells, 2013 → 2023: 2,834 → 3,481. 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.