Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0Households in Damascus have higher incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
3.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.4% across Maryland. Jobs and income earn Damascus A+; getting around on foot earns it A−. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Damascus at work: what stands out
Damascus workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 31 across Maryland. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Damascus
72% of Damascus residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Damascus pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Damascus is a place people come home to
There are 2,413 jobs based in Damascus, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Damascus has about 12,000 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Damascus
27% of Damascus workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Time on the road ↓
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.
The figures behind Damascus’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Damascus is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #32 of 261 in Maryland. Household income is its strongest input ($158,883, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.8%, 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, Damascus could be anywhere from A to A+.
From Damascus, about 38 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Damascus workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,092 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 kinds of work in Damascus
2,413 jobs are based in Damascus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Damascus, 2013 → 2023: 2,424 → 2,413. 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 Damascus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Damascus on a workday
On a workday 8,028 residents head out to work, 350 work right here, and 2,063 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Damascus on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.29 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.
12% of working residents work in Rockville
Where Damascus clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 commute from Damascus, 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.
Damascus is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Damascus is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #147 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,644 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 2.0% of Damascus households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Damascus’ commuters take a bus or train.
Damascus is 101st of 2,103 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Honeygo MD | 12,250 | $146K | 1.8% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Uwchlan Township PA | 19,615 | $134K | 2.5% | 3.1% | 9% | A+ |
| 100 | Ocean Pointe HI | 17,085 | $150K | 2.1% | 2.2% | <1% | A+ |
| 101 | Damascus MD | 17,640 | $159K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| 102 | Stone Ridge VA | 16,603 | $188K | 1.8% | 3.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 103 | Highland Village TX | 16,029 | $160K | 1.8% | 4.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Damascus, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work in the towns next to Damascus
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Damascus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damascus | – | A+ | A− | 38 min | $158,883 |
| Clarksburg | under 3% | A | A− | 34 min | $176,678 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Damascus’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 Damascus: questions
What is the median household income in Damascus?
$158,883 (±$12,568) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Damascus?
3.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Damascus?
38 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Damascus work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockville (12%, 13 mi), Gaithersburg (7%, 8 mi), Washington (6%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Damascus walkable?
Damascus is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Damascus without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Damascus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Damascus
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.