Work & commute · Bethesda

Work & commute in Bethesda, MD

Most working residents leave Bethesda for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (29%), Rockville (4%) and North Bethesda (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

4,360 of 26,755 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

38%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 22,395 Bethesda residents head out of town to work, 4,360 work right here, and 69,010 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bethesda.

22,395live here, work elsewhere

4,360live and work here

69,010work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bethesda goes to work

Washington, DC7.9 mi away

29%7,782

Bethesda (in town)right here

16%4,360

Rockville6.9 mi away

4%1,017

North Bethesda3.4 mi away

4%988

Arlington, VA7.6 mi away

3%738

Potomac4.4 mi away

2%663

Gaithersburg11.9 mi away

2%627

Tysons, VA7.4 mi away

2%586

Baltimore34.8 mi away

2%562

Silver Spring5.4 mi away

2%437

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%8,995

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

How far

How far Bethesda commutes

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

70%

18%

70%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bethesda is a job hub

2.74jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bethesda are

73,370 jobs are based in Bethesda. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bethesda’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bethesda

73,370 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month81%

Jobs Bethesda residents hold

26,755 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)86%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month11%

Over $3,333 a month81%

+4%

Jobs based in Bethesda, 2013 → 2023: 70,647 → 73,370. 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.