Work & commute · Potomac

Work & commute in Potomac, MD

Most working residents leave Potomac for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (18%), Bethesda (10%) and Rockville (7%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,404 of 17,828 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 16,424 Potomac residents head out of town to work, 1,404 work right here, and 25,994 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Potomac.

16,424live here, work elsewhere

1,404live and work here

25,994work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Potomac goes to work

Washington, DC12.1 mi away

18%3,288

Bethesda4.4 mi away

10%1,789

Potomac (in town)right here

8%1,404

Rockville5.3 mi away

7%1,198

North Bethesda4.3 mi away

5%968

Gaithersburg9.3 mi away

3%622

Tysons, VA6.6 mi away

3%575

Arlington, VA10.6 mi away

2%435

Baltimore37 mi away

2%421

Silver Spring9.3 mi away

2%274

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%6,854

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

How far

How far Potomac commutes

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

48%

40%

48%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Potomac is a job hub

1.54jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Potomac are

27,398 jobs are based in Potomac. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Potomac’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Potomac

27,398 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month77%

Jobs Potomac residents hold

17,828 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month80%

+98%

Jobs based in Potomac, 2013 → 2023: 13,844 → 27,398. 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.