Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Aberdeen (5.7%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
For 8% of workers, the job is at home, where Maryland as a whole has 19%. Aberdeen grades C+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.3 in Baltimore.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Aberdeen at work: what stands out
Aberdeen trades workers with the towns around it
Aberdeen has about as many jobs (7,170) as working residents (7,064), but they are mostly different people: 6,441 residents leave for work each day while 6,547 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Aberdeen are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Aberdeen’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Aberdeen is Baltimore, 28 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (904) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Aberdeen draws workers from far and wide
The 7,170 jobs in Aberdeen are filled from a wide area. Aberdeen’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Aberdeen’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Aberdeen is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #236 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Aberdeen’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aberdeen could be anywhere from C to B.
How a workday changes Aberdeen
On a workday 6,441 residents head out to work, 623 work right here, and 6,547 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Aberdeen
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
13% of working residents work in Baltimore
Where Aberdeen clocks in
13% of workers
4% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What work there is in Aberdeen: 7,170 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aberdeen, 2013 → 2023: 6,266 → 7,170. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aberdeen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 28 minutes from Aberdeen
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aberdeen workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,824 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Good to walk, short on transit: Aberdeen
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Aberdeen is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #130 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,540 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 72% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.3% of Aberdeen households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Aberdeen’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Aberdeen is 1,335th among 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Damascus MD | 17,640 | $159K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,333 | East Ridge TN | 21,921 | $62K | 13.1% | 5.3% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,334 | Newton KS | 18,353 | $69K | 9.7% | 6.1% | 31% | C+ |
| 1,335 | Aberdeen MD | 18,374 | $75K | 14.3% | 5.7% | 9% | C+ |
| 1,336 | South Sioux City NE | 14,158 | $68K | 12.2% | 5.0% | 17% | C+ |
| 1,337 | Glens Falls NY | 14,383 | $68K | 11.3% | 4.9% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Aberdeen, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Next door to Aberdeen
The biggest share goes to Havre de Grace (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aberdeen workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | – | C+ | A− | 28 min | $74,826 |
| Perryman | 3% | D | C+ | 27 min | $35,392 |
| Havre de Grace | 4% | B+ | A | 28 min | $105,817 |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground | under 2% | A | B+ | 15 min | $125,069 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Aberdeen’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Aberdeen: questions
What is the median household income in Aberdeen?
$74,826 (±$8,950) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aberdeen?
14.3%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aberdeen?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aberdeen work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (13%, 28 mi), Bel Air (4%, 9 mi), Havre de Grace (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aberdeen walkable?
Aberdeen is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aberdeen without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aberdeen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aberdeen
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.