Photo: westroopnerd · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Bethesda have higher incomes than those in 98% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 4.3%, where Maryland as a whole has 9.4%. Bethesda grades A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. At home: 38% of workers have no commute at all (Maryland 19%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Bethesda in brief
A lot of Bethesda works from home
38% of Bethesda workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Time on the road ↓
Bethesda is where the jobs are
Bethesda has 73,370 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 116,000 people are in town, 67% more than the 69,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Bethesda workers cross into Washington, D.C.
28% of Bethesda workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (29%), Arlington (3%) and Tysons (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
81% of Bethesda’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 81% of the jobs based in Bethesda. The jobs ↓
Most Bethesda residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 5% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
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 Bethesda’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Household income is its strongest input ($192,237, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.1%, 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, Bethesda could be anywhere from A to A+.
Bethesda’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bethesda workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,375 commuters (the 38% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Bethesda
On a workday 22,395 residents head out to work, 4,360 work right here, and 69,010 people come in from elsewhere.
About 116,000 people are in Bethesda on a workday afternoon, 67% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Bethesda’s workers come from
Where Bethesda clocks in
29% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Bethesda
73,370 jobs are based in Bethesda.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bethesda, 2013 → 2023: 70,647 → 73,370. 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 Bethesda’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Bethesda’s workers travel
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.
Bethesda is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bethesda is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #7 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Bethesda 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 36,061 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 64% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 24.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 9.6% of Bethesda households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 15% of Bethesda’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bethesda places 7th of 634 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 49,000 to 94,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Dublin OH | 49,094 | $160K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| 6 | Washington Township OH | 51,915 | $148K | 3.2% | 2.5% | 15% | A+ |
| 7 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| 8 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 9 | Fall Creek Township IN | 75,188 | $146K | 3.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| 10 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | North Bethesda MD | 49,677 | $129K | 5.2% | 3.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Bowie MD | 58,383 | $142K | 3.8% | 4.7% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 634 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Bethesda, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
The towns around Bethesda
The biggest share goes to North Bethesda (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bethesda workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethesda | – | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $192,237 |
| South Kensington | under 2% | A | A+ | 29 min | $210,953 |
| Brookmont | under 2% | A+ | A | 25 min | $247,150 |
| Chevy Chase | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $211,765 |
| North Bethesda | 4% | A | A+ | 30 min | $129,092 |
| Potomac | 2% | A+ | A | 30 min | $236,675 |
| Somerset | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $250,000+ |
| Chevy Chase | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $250,000+ |
| Chevy Chase Village | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Friendship Heights Village | under 2% | A | A+ | 31 min | $119,384 |
| Glen Echo | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Glen Echo: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bethesda’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 Bethesda: questions
What is the median household income in Bethesda?
$192,237 (±$6,260) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bethesda?
4.3%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bethesda?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 38% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bethesda work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (29%, 8 mi), Rockville (4%, 7 mi), North Bethesda (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bethesda walkable?
Bethesda is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 28% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bethesda without a car?
15% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 64% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bethesda, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bethesda
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.