Work & commute · Chesapeake

Work & commute in Chesapeake, MD

Most working residents leave Chesapeake for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Elkton (11%), Wilmington (4%) and Newark (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

7 of 318 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 311 Chesapeake residents head out of town to work, 7 work right here, and 500 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chesapeake.

311live here, work elsewhere

7live and work here

500work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chesapeake goes to work

Elkton5.3 mi away

11%35

Wilmington, DE20.4 mi away

4%13

Newark, DE10.5 mi away

3%9

Baltimore45.8 mi away

3%8

Middletown, DE7.7 mi away

2%7

Chesapeake City (in town)right here

2%7

New Castle, DE16 mi away

1%3

Laurel63.9 mi away

1%3

Havre de Grace16.4 mi away

1%3

Philadelphia, PA48.7 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

71%227

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

How far

How far Chesapeake commutes

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

41%

26%

16%

17%

41%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chesapeake is a job hub

1.59jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Chesapeake are

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

Jobs based in Chesapeake

507 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities3%

Services (health, schools, offices…)97%

$1,250 a month or less39%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month30%

Jobs Chesapeake residents hold

318 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+30%

Jobs based in Chesapeake, 2013 → 2023: 389 → 507. 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.