Work & commute · West Laurel

Work & commute in West Laurel, MD

Most working residents leave West Laurel for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (13%), Columbia (7%) and Baltimore (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 1,962 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

37 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,957 West Laurel residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 148 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Laurel.

1,957live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

148work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Laurel goes to work

Washington, DC16.1 mi away

13%254

Columbia6.2 mi away

7%131

Baltimore19.7 mi away

4%77

Beltsville5.5 mi away

4%74

Bethesda15 mi away

3%65

Rockville14.3 mi away

3%59

College Park8.6 mi away

3%55

Laurel2.2 mi away

3%52

Konterra2.4 mi away

2%45

Fulton2.8 mi away

2%38

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%1,112

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

How far

How far West Laurel commutes

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

35%

55%

35%Under 10 mi

55%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Laurel is a commuter town

0.08jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.08 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in West Laurel are

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

Jobs based in West Laurel

153 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs West Laurel residents hold

1,962 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

−22%

Jobs based in West Laurel, 2013 → 2023: 195 → 153. 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.