Work & commute · Towson

Work & commute in Towson, MD

Most working residents leave Towson for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Baltimore (32%), Cockeysville (5%) and Timonium (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

3,262 of 23,365 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

23%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 20,103 Towson residents head out of town to work, 3,262 work right here, and 49,231 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Towson.

20,103live here, work elsewhere

3,262live and work here

49,231work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Towson goes to work

Baltimore6.5 mi away

32%7,390

Towson (in town)right here

14%3,262

Cockeysville5.8 mi away

5%1,079

Timonium3.6 mi away

2%499

Columbia18.6 mi away

2%453

Pikesville4.4 mi away

2%393

Owings Mills9.2 mi away

2%379

Woodlawn9.3 mi away

1%319

Rossville7.9 mi away

1%299

Washington, DC40 mi away

1%284

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%9,008

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

How far

How far Towson commutes

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

67%

18%

11%

67%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Towson is a job hub

2.25jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Towson are

52,493 jobs are based in Towson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Towson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Towson

52,493 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Towson residents hold

23,365 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month71%

−5%

Jobs based in Towson, 2013 → 2023: 55,411 → 52,493. 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.