Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T Buildings · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Eldersburg earn more than those in 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Eldersburg itself; outside it, Columbia draws the most (8%, 15 miles). Poverty touches 4.7% of residents (Maryland 9.4%). For jobs and income Eldersburg is better than 93% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (C+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Eldersburg apart on work
Eldersburg draws workers from far and wide
The 10,163 jobs in Eldersburg are filled from a wide area. Eldersburg’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
No single place dominates Eldersburg’s commute
The biggest draw, Columbia, gets only 8% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Eldersburg residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Eldersburg
71% of Eldersburg residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Eldersburg pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. 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.
Inside Eldersburg’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($142,954, 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.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Eldersburg could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Out of Eldersburg to work: where people go
Where Eldersburg clocks in
8% 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.
What Eldersburg’s employers do
10,163 jobs are based in Eldersburg.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eldersburg, 2013 → 2023: 8,761 → 10,163. 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 Eldersburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Eldersburg: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 13,124 residents head out to work, 1,668 work right here, and 8,495 people come in from elsewhere.
About 27,000 people are in Eldersburg on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
A commute of about 34 minutes in Eldersburg
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eldersburg workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,777 commuters (the 22% 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 distance from Eldersburg 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.
Driving is how Eldersburg gets around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,361 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.6% of Eldersburg households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Eldersburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Eldersburg ranks: 163rd of 1,368 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 161 | Darien IL | 22,032 | $111K | 4.2% | 3.9% | 4% | A |
| 162 | Niskayuna NY | 24,211 | $137K | 4.3% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| 163 | Eldersburg MD | 31,695 | $143K | 4.7% | 3.1% | 11% | A |
| 164 | South Elgin IL | 25,656 | $127K | 6.4% | 3.1% | 4% | A |
| 165 | Cranberry Township PA | 35,244 | $125K | 4.4% | 3.1% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,368 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Eldersburg, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
How Eldersburg compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eldersburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldersburg | – | A | C+ | 34 min | $142,954 |
| Sykesville | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 31 min | $139,556 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Eldersburg’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 Eldersburg: questions
What is the median household income in Eldersburg?
$142,954 (±$7,926) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eldersburg?
4.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eldersburg?
34 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eldersburg work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (8%, 15 mi), Baltimore (8%, 20 mi), Ellicott City (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eldersburg walkable?
Eldersburg is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eldersburg without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eldersburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eldersburg
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.