Ammendale Normal Institute · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainBeltsville has 2.7 jobs for every working resident: 20,173 people commute in to work
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore. There are 20,564 jobs in Beltsville; 7,522 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Beltsville B; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Beltsville, in a few figures
Beltsville draws workers from far and wide
The 20,564 jobs in Beltsville are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 18%; the other 80% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Beltsville is where the jobs are
Beltsville has 20,564 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 32,000 people are in town, 68% more than the 19,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Beltsville workers cross into Washington, D.C.
20% of Beltsville workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (16%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Beltsville pay over $40,000 a year
78% of the jobs based in Beltsville pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Beltsville gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Beltsville is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #194 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Beltsville’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (8.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Beltsville could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Where Beltsville’s workforce comes from
Where Beltsville clocks in
16% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
Who works in Beltsville, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,131 residents head out to work and 391 work right here.
About 32,000 people are in Beltsville on a workday afternoon, 68% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Goods, not services: 34% of the jobs in Beltsville
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Beltsville, 2014 → 2024: 20,356 → 20,564. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Beltsville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 32 minutes in Beltsville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Beltsville workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,345 commuters (the 11% 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.
Beltsville’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Beltsville, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Beltsville is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #80 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Beltsville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,298 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 11.6% of Beltsville households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Beltsville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000, Beltsville ranks 1,122nd of 2,023 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,120 | Port Orchard WA | 19,839 | $90K | 9.7% | 3.9% | 11% | B |
| 1,121 | Sweden NY | 14,099 | $76K | 15.6% | 2.7% | 13% | B |
| 1,122 | Beltsville MD | 19,176 | $100K | 11.9% | 8.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,123 | East Peoria IL | 22,088 | $72K | 11.8% | 3.3% | 11% | B |
| 1,124 | Dickinson TX | 21,908 | $92K | 12.0% | 6.2% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 Beltsville, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Beltsville and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to College Park (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Beltsville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beltsville | – | B | A | 32 min | $99,642 |
| Hillandale | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $164,871 |
| Konterra | under 2% | A− | B− | 30 min | $130,000 |
| Calverton | 2% | B+ | A | 31 min | $107,381 |
| College Park | 3% | B+ | A+ | 26 min | $69,721 |
| White Oak | under 2% | B− | A+ | 34 min | $83,370 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Beltsville’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 2024, 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 Beltsville: questions
What is the median household income in Beltsville?
$99,642 (±$3,854) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Beltsville?
11.9%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Beltsville?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Beltsville work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (16%, 11 mi), Baltimore (5%, 24 mi), Bethesda (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Beltsville walkable?
Beltsville is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Beltsville without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Beltsville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Beltsville
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.