Work & commute · West Ocean

Work & commute in West Ocean, MD

Most working residents leave West Ocean for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Ocean City (19%), Salisbury (8%) and Berlin (7%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

315 of 2,080 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,765 West Ocean residents head out of town to work, 315 work right here, and 2,306 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Ocean.

1,765live here, work elsewhere

315live and work here

2,306work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Ocean goes to work

Ocean City4.9 mi away

19%386

West Ocean City (in town)right here

15%315

Salisbury25.8 mi away

8%159

Berlin5.8 mi away

7%142

Ocean Pines3.3 mi away

2%34

Snow Hill19.4 mi away

2%33

Baltimore104.1 mi away

1%31

Cambridge54.2 mi away

1%23

Easton59.7 mi away

1%17

Selbyville, DE9.4 mi away

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%924

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

How far

How far West Ocean commutes

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

52%

14%

25%

52%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Ocean is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Ocean are

2,621 jobs are based in West Ocean. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Ocean’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Ocean

2,621 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs West Ocean residents hold

2,080 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+28%

Jobs based in West Ocean, 2013 → 2023: 2,047 → 2,621. 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.