Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Arnold have higher incomes than those in 94% of U.S. towns
3.1% of residents are in poverty; Maryland has 9.4%. The two grades for Arnold are A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 6% work in Arnold itself; outside it, Baltimore draws the most (10%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Arnold, in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Arnold
71% of Arnold residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 53% of the jobs based in Arnold pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Arnold has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Arnold went from 3,114 in 2013 to 4,262 in 2023, +37%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Arnold
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arnold is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #26 of 261 in Maryland. Household income is its strongest input ($141,639, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arnold could be anywhere from A to A+.
In Arnold, services account for most jobs
4,262 jobs are based in Arnold.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arnold, 2013 → 2023: 3,114 → 4,262. 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 Arnold’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Arnold for work, and who comes in
On a workday 9,400 residents head out to work, 629 work right here, and 3,633 people come in from elsewhere.
About 19,000 people are in Arnold on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.42 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Arnold goes to work
Where Arnold clocks in
10% of workers
9% 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.
The trip to work from Arnold: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arnold workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,917 commuters (the 22% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Arnold
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.
The commute in Arnold is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arnold is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #202 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 12,792 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 16% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 1.6% of Arnold households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Arnold’s commuters take a bus or train.
Arnold places 54th of 1,642 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Warren Township NJ | 17,753 | $204K | 2.8% | 3.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 53 | Peters Township PA | 23,262 | $146K | 2.1% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 54 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 55 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| 56 | Libertyville IL | 20,701 | $166K | 4.2% | 2.9% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Damascus MD | 17,640 | $159K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Crofton MD | 29,549 | $151K | 2.9% | 3.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Arnold, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
14% of Arnold works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Parole (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arnold workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold | – | A+ | B | 28 min | $141,639 |
| Severna Park | 4% | A+ | A− | 28 min | $169,953 |
| Cape St. Claire | 1% | A− | B | 32 min | $136,111 |
| Parole | 9% | A | A | 30 min | $120,361 |
| Lake Shore | under 2% | A | C | 31 min | $130,689 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Arnold’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 Arnold: questions
What is the median household income in Arnold?
$141,639 (±$11,087) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arnold?
3.1%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arnold?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arnold work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (10%, 19 mi), Annapolis (9%, 5 mi), Parole (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arnold walkable?
Arnold is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arnold without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Arnold, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arnold
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.