Photo: Blacktupelo · CC BY-SA 4.053% of College Park’s residents are college students
The two grades for College Park are B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Family incomes here are higher than in 76% of U.S. towns. About one in ten work in College Park; the top destination outside it is Washington (18%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in College Park, in brief
College Park is where the jobs are
College Park has 23,470 jobs, 2.9 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 51,000 people are in town, 43% more than the 35,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
College Park draws workers from far and wide
The 23,470 jobs in College Park are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 22%; the other 75% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in College Park is services
93% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Commutes from College Park are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker, and quicker than any town next door (30 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind College Park’s Jobs & income grade
On family income, poverty and job access, College Park is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #147 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds College Park’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (15.2%, U.S. 11.9%). It also does well on family income.
Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (34% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 15.2%, against 33.2% for all residents. Unemployment (7.1%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($117,328), since student households pull the household median down ($69,721).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, College Park could be anywhere from B to A.
Who works in College Park, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,438 residents head out to work, 767 work right here, and 22,703 people come in from elsewhere.
About 51,000 people are in College Park on a workday afternoon, 43% more than live here.
2.9 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 2024, primary jobs.
The daily trip into College Park
Where College Park clocks in
18% 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.
Most jobs in College Park are in services
23,470 jobs are based in College Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in College Park, 2014 → 2024: 24,391 → 23,470. 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 College Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from College Park: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of College Park workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,770 commuters (the 16% 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.
College Park’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.
College Park is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, College Park is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #6 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place College Park 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 15,212 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 72% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 31.7 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). 18.6% of College Park households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of College Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 25,000 to 48,000, College Park ranks 527th of 1,219 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Pasadena MD | 34,309 | $130K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 525 | Guilford Township IN | 37,203 | $88K | 7.4% | 4.1% | 16% | B+ |
| 526 | Benicia CA | 26,401 | $121K | 7.6% | 4.5% | 14% | B+ |
| 527 | College Park MD | 35,418 | $70K | 33.2% | 7.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 528 | Middleborough MA | 25,149 | $97K | 6.2% | 4.7% | 13% | B+ |
| 529 | Palm City FL | 26,371 | $126K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,219 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 College Park, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
How College Park compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Beltsville (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | College Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Park | – | B+ | A+ | 26 min | $69,721 |
| Adelphi | under 2% | B− | A+ | 37 min | $82,137 |
| Beltsville | 3% | B | A | 32 min | $99,642 |
| Greenbelt | under 2% | B− | A+ | 34 min | $85,997 |
| Riverdale Park | under 2% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $120,043 |
| Berwyn Heights | under 2% | A | A+ | 32 min | $146,591 |
| University Park | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 32 min | $207,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of College Park’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.
- Students. 53% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in College Park: questions
What is the median household income in College Park?
$69,721 (±$10,672) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in College Park?
33.2% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 15.2%. Maryland: 9.4%.
How long is the commute from College Park?
26 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in College Park work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (18%, 8 mi), Baltimore (4%, 27 mi), Beltsville (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is College Park walkable?
College Park is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.2 out of 20, and 32% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around College Park without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 72% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from College Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of College Park
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.