Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Chesapeake Beach have higher incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 2.8% of residents (Maryland 9.4%). The two grades for Chesapeake Beach are A− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 6% work in Chesapeake Beach itself; outside it, Prince Frederick draws the most (6%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Chesapeake Beach apart on work
No single place dominates Chesapeake Beach’s commute
The biggest draw, Prince Frederick, gets only 6% of working residents, and 68% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Chesapeake Beach residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Chesapeake Beach
64% of Chesapeake Beach residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 32% of the jobs based in Chesapeake Beach pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Chesapeake Beach workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 31 across Maryland. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Chesapeake Beach pay little
32% of the jobs based in Chesapeake Beach pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 37% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Why Chesapeake Beach gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chesapeake Beach is better than 84% of U.S. towns, #108 of 261 in Maryland. The poverty rate holds Chesapeake Beach’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 20% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chesapeake Beach could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Commuting out of Chesapeake Beach: the destinations
Where Chesapeake Beach clocks in
6% 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.
The 712 jobs based in Chesapeake Beach
712 jobs are based in Chesapeake Beach.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chesapeake Beach, 2013 → 2023: 675 → 712. 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 Chesapeake Beach’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Chesapeake Beach takes about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chesapeake Beach workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,768 commuters (the 20% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Chesapeake Beach
On a workday 2,103 residents head out to work, 123 work right here, and 589 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,000 people are in Chesapeake Beach on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.32 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.
The distance from Chesapeake Beach to work
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 Chesapeake Beach is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chesapeake Beach is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns, #206 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Chesapeake Beach 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 3,445 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 3% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% 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). 5.6% of Chesapeake Beach households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Chesapeake Beach’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Chesapeake Beach is 634th of 3,306 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Fulton MD | 5,677 | $222K | 0.7% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Riva MD | 4,976 | $176K | 1.1% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Hampton MD | 5,372 | $171K | 3.8% | 0.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 632 | Mendon MA | 6,479 | $132K | 7.1% | 4.1% | 8% | A− |
| 633 | North Riverside IL | 7,161 | $77K | 7.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A− |
| 634 | Chesapeake Beach MD | 6,466 | $139K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 6% | A− |
| 635 | Rochester MA | 5,956 | $120K | 5.4% | 3.2% | 9% | A− |
| 636 | Licking Township OH | 4,996 | $92K | 7.0% | 2.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Chesapeake Beach, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Around Chesapeake Beach: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chesapeake Beach workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Beach | – | A− | B | 41 min | $138,895 |
| North Beach | under 2% | C+ | A | 40 min | $83,933 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chesapeake Beach’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 Chesapeake Beach: questions
What is the median household income in Chesapeake Beach?
$138,895 (±$17,889) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chesapeake Beach?
2.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chesapeake Beach?
41 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chesapeake Beach work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Prince Frederick (6%, 10 mi), Washington (5%, 29 mi), Lake Arbor (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chesapeake Beach walkable?
Chesapeake Beach is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chesapeake Beach without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chesapeake Beach, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chesapeake Beach
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.