Work & commute · McLean

Work & commute in McLean, VA

Most working residents leave McLean for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (21%), Tysons (10%) and Arlington (9%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,156 of 19,475 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 18,319 McLean residents head out of town to work, 1,156 work right here, and 14,155 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in McLean.

18,319live here, work elsewhere

1,156live and work here

14,155work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where McLean goes to work

Washington, DC9.9 mi away

21%4,182

Tysons2.4 mi away

10%2,042

Arlington6.7 mi away

9%1,844

McLean (in town)right here

6%1,156

Reston8.5 mi away

4%843

Springfield11.2 mi away

3%591

Alexandria10.4 mi away

3%543

McNair11.9 mi away

2%324

Bethesda, MD5 mi away

2%320

Fair Oaks10.4 mi away

2%297

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%7,333

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

How far

How far McLean commutes

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

64%

26%

64%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

McLean is balanced between jobs and homes

0.79jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in McLean are

15,311 jobs are based in McLean. Here is what they are, next to the jobs McLean’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in McLean

15,311 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)87%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs McLean residents hold

19,475 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)86%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month11%

Over $3,333 a month80%

+22%

Jobs based in McLean, 2013 → 2023: 12,589 → 15,311. 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.