Photo: USDAgov · Public domainFew U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Chevy Chase’s
Below the poverty line: 2.0% of residents, against 9.4% across Maryland. Measured by household income, Chevy Chase is among the highest-earning towns in the country. Jobs and income earn Chevy Chase A+; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Chevy Chase and work: the main findings
Home offices are common in Chevy Chase
44% of Chevy Chase workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Chevy Chase workers cross into Washington, D.C.
31% of Chevy Chase workers work outside Maryland, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Most Chevy Chase residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Four in five Chevy Chase workers earn over $40,000 a year
83% of Chevy Chase’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. The jobs ↓
One in three of Chevy Chase works in Washington
360 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Washington, DC, 6.5 miles away. That’s 11 times as many as work in Chevy Chase itself. 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.
What’s behind Chevy Chase’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chevy Chase is among the top U.S. towns, #11 of 261 in Maryland. Household income is its strongest input ($250,000+, 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.
The Census reports Chevy Chase’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chevy Chase could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 29 minutes each way, quicker than most of Maryland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chevy Chase workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 818 commuters (the 44% 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.
32% of working residents work in Washington
Where Chevy Chase clocks in
32% of workers
14% 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.
Where in the region Chevy Chase works
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Chevy Chase
396 jobs are based in Chevy Chase.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chevy Chase, 2013 → 2023: 485 → 396. 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 Chevy Chase’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Chevy Chase: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,081 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 360 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Chevy Chase on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.35 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.
Chevy Chase is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chevy Chase is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #8 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Chevy Chase 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 1,452 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, 58% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 50.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 3.3% of Chevy Chase households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 13% of Chevy Chase’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chevy Chase is 47th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Cabin John MD | 2,179 | $250K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Brown Station MD | 3,451 | $169K | 3.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Naval Academy MD | 3,006 | $122K | 1.5% | 4.4% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Sierra Ridge CO | 3,663 | $158K | 0.1% | 2.4% | <1% | A+ |
| 46 | Adamstown MD | 2,025 | $196K | 0.9% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| 47 | Chevy Chase MD | 2,804 | $250K | 2.0% | 3.1% | 3% | A+ |
| 48 | Krugerville TX | 2,021 | $118K | 1.9% | 4.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 49 | Monrovia MD | 3,568 | $207K | 0.0% | 2.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Chevy Chase, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Next door is work for 14% of Chevy Chase
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chevy Chase workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevy Chase | – | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $250,000+ |
| Bethesda | 14% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $192,237 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bethesda. Darker towns draw more of Chevy Chase’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.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Chevy Chase: questions
What is the median household income in Chevy Chase?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chevy Chase?
2.0%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chevy Chase?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 44% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chevy Chase work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (32%, 6 mi), Bethesda (14%, 2 mi), Rockville (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chevy Chase walkable?
Chevy Chase is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 31% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chevy Chase without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 58% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chevy Chase, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chevy Chase
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.