Work & commute · Baltimore

Work & commute in Baltimore, MD

44% of Baltimore’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Towson (4%), Columbia (2%) and Cockeysville (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44%

98,870 of 225,834 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 126,964 Baltimore residents head out of town to work, 98,870 work right here, and 216,230 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Baltimore.

126,964live here, work elsewhere

98,870live and work here

216,230work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Baltimore goes to work

Baltimore (in town)right here

44%98,870

Towson6.5 mi away

4%9,439

Columbia15 mi away

2%5,451

Cockeysville12.3 mi away

2%4,720

Washington, DC35 mi away

2%4,526

Woodlawn7.3 mi away

2%3,539

Catonsville7.5 mi away

1%3,236

Glen Burnie9.9 mi away

1%3,082

Pikesville7.9 mi away

1%2,856

Linthicum6.9 mi away

1%2,741

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%87,374

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

How far

How far Baltimore commutes

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

66%

20%

11%

66%Under 10 mi

20%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Baltimore is balanced between jobs and homes

1.40jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Baltimore are

315,100 jobs are based in Baltimore. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baltimore’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Baltimore

315,100 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs Baltimore residents hold

225,834 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+1%

Jobs based in Baltimore, 2013 → 2023: 311,544 → 315,100. 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.