Photo: Scott Saghirian · CC BY 2.0Ellicott City’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
3.7% of residents are in poverty; Maryland has 9.4%. The two grades for Ellicott City are A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. 27% of workers work from home, where Maryland as a whole has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Ellicott City apart on work
Home offices are common in Ellicott City
27% of Ellicott City workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Time on the road ↓
Ellicott City draws workers from far and wide
The 21,122 jobs in Ellicott City are filled from a wide area. Ellicott City’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Ellicott City’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ellicott City is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #27 of 261 in Maryland. Household income is its strongest input ($156,964, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.0%, 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, Ellicott City could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily trip from Ellicott City: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ellicott City workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 26,488 commuters (the 27% 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.
14% of working residents work in Baltimore
Where Ellicott City clocks in
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.
How many people are in Ellicott City by day
On a workday 31,361 residents head out to work, 2,875 work right here, and 18,247 people come in from elsewhere.
About 62,000 people are in Ellicott City on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.62 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 2024, primary jobs.
Ellicott City is a services town
21,122 jobs are based in Ellicott City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ellicott City, 2014 → 2024: 19,908 → 21,122. 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 Ellicott City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Ellicott City, by distance
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.
Ellicott City is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ellicott City is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #181 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% 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 36,370 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 31% 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 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 3.0% of Ellicott City households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ellicott City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ellicott City places 7th of 587 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 53,000 to 102,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 4 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| 5 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 6 | Fall Creek Township IN | 75,188 | $146K | 3.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| 7 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| 8 | New Trier Township IL | 56,118 | $216K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 10% | A+ |
| 9 | Franklin TN | 90,226 | $120K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 30% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Bowie MD | 58,383 | $142K | 3.8% | 4.7% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Bel Air South MD | 58,137 | $124K | 3.9% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 587 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 50% | 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 Ellicott City, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work next door: 17% of Ellicott City’s workers
The biggest share goes to Columbia (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ellicott City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellicott City | – | A+ | B | 28 min | $156,964 |
| Catonsville | 2% | A | A | 25 min | $114,109 |
| Ilchester | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $152,103 |
| Woodlawn | 3% | B | A | 26 min | $82,466 |
| Columbia | 12% | A | A | 28 min | $131,490 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ellicott City’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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ellicott City: questions
What is the median household income in Ellicott City?
$156,964 (±$11,037) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ellicott City?
3.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ellicott City?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ellicott City work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (14%, 12 mi), Columbia (12%, 5 mi), Washington (4%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Ellicott City walkable?
Ellicott City is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ellicott City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ellicott City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ellicott City
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.