Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5Bowie has higher household incomes than 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.3 in Baltimore. 3.8% of residents live below the poverty line; Maryland has 9.4%. For jobs and income Bowie is better than 92% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Bowie: the gist
Bowie draws workers from far and wide
The 15,267 jobs in Bowie are filled from a wide area. Bowie’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
A lot of Bowie workers cross into Washington, D.C.
19% of Bowie workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (22%) and Arlington (2%) are among the top workplaces. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Bowie
Job access by car holds Bowie’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bowie could be anywhere from A− to A+.
22% of working residents work in Washington
Where Bowie clocks in
22% 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 Bowie, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 25,563 residents head out to work, 1,241 work right here, and 14,026 people come in from elsewhere.
About 47,000 people are in Bowie on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.57 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.
What work there is in Bowie: 15,267 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bowie, 2013 → 2023: 16,127 → 15,267. 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 Bowie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Bowie: about 35 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bowie workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,579 commuters (the 26% 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 commute from Bowie, by distance
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.
In Bowie, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 31,871 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 71% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 23% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 2.4% of Bowie households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Bowie’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bowie next to U.S. towns of 41,000 to 79,000: 80th of 749 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Wayne Township IL | 63,935 | $137K | 4.3% | 4.5% | 5% | A |
| 79 | Bothell WA | 52,199 | $140K | 4.8% | 3.9% | 9% | A |
| 80 | Bowie MD | 58,383 | $142K | 3.8% | 4.7% | 5% | A |
| 81 | Palo Alto CA | 67,609 | $231K | 6.0% | 3.9% | 16% | A |
| 82 | Evesham Township NJ | 49,525 | $119K | 3.6% | 4.3% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Bowie, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Bowie and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bowie workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowie | – | A | A | 35 min | $141,995 |
| Fairwood | under 2% | A+ | A | 39 min | $181,458 |
| Glenn Dale | under 2% | A | B− | 34 min | $134,333 |
| Brock Hall | under 2% | A | B | 42 min | $206,451 |
| Woodmore | under 2% | A− | B+ | 40 min | $184,286 |
| Queen Anne | under 2% | A+ | C− | 36 min | $102,727 |
| Kettering | under 2% | B+ | A | 41 min | $126,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bowie’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 Bowie: questions
What is the median household income in Bowie?
$141,995 (±$5,287) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bowie?
3.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bowie?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bowie work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (22%, 15 mi), Baltimore (3%, 25 mi), Parole (2%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bowie walkable?
Bowie is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bowie without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 23% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bowie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bowie
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.