Households in Dunkirk have higher incomes than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Dunkirk for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (8%, 22 miles). The poverty rate is 1.8%, next to 9.4% for Maryland as a whole. Dunkirk grades A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Dunkirk
Dunkirk is where the jobs are
Dunkirk has 1,514 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Dunkirk
69% of Dunkirk residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Dunkirk pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Dunkirk’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Dunkirk is Washington, DC, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (60) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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; with 766 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Dunkirk’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dunkirk is better than 97% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dunkirk could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily commute in and out of Dunkirk
On a workday 722 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 1,470 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Dunkirk on a workday afternoon, 35% more than live here.
2.0 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 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Dunkirk
1,514 jobs are based in Dunkirk.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dunkirk, 2013 → 2023: 1,486 → 1,514. 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 Dunkirk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Dunkirk commutes
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 towns that send workers to Dunkirk
Where Dunkirk clocks in
8% 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.
Dunkirk’s commute takes about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dunkirk workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,019 commuters (the 14% 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.
In Dunkirk, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dunkirk is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,190 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 6.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 0.0% of Dunkirk households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Dunkirk’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900, Dunkirk ranks 125th of 5,404 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 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Colmar Manor MD | 1,590 | $123K | 2.3% | 4.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Shorewood Hills WI | 2,155 | $154K | 5.4% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| 124 | Omro WI | 2,409 | $121K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 1% | A+ |
| 125 | Dunkirk MD | 2,166 | $149K | 1.8% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| 126 | Eagle WI | 2,115 | $112K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 2% | A+ |
| 127 | Prairie Du Long Township IL | 2,549 | $159K | 0.5% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Dunkirk, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
How Dunkirk compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Dunkirk’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 Dunkirk: questions
What is the median household income in Dunkirk?
$149,271 (±$22,455) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dunkirk?
1.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dunkirk?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dunkirk work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (8%, 22 mi), Prince Frederick (5%, 13 mi), Waldorf (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dunkirk walkable?
Dunkirk is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dunkirk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dunkirk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dunkirk
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.