With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Fairland works elsewhere
Measured by household income, Fairland is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Employers in Fairland report 4,496 jobs for 10,880 working residents. The two grades for Fairland are B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fairland apart on work
Most jobs in Fairland pay over $40,000 a year
75% of the jobs based in Fairland pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Fairland than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Fairland fell from 5,981 in 2013 to 4,496 in 2023, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Why Fairland gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fairland is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #178 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Fairland’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairland could be anywhere from B− to A−.
75% of the jobs in Fairland pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairland, 2013 → 2023: 5,981 → 4,496. 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 Fairland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Fairland: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 10,632 residents head out to work, 248 work right here, and 4,248 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Fairland on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
18% of working residents work in Washington
Where Fairland clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
Commuting from Fairland: about 35 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairland workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,507 commuters (the 17% 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.
Half of Fairland commutes less than 12 miles
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.
Fairland is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 13,942 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 17.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 11.0% of Fairland households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Fairland’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fairland is 806th of 1,576 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| 56 | Pasadena MD | 34,309 | $130K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 804 | Montville CT | 18,001 | $96K | 7.8% | 4.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 805 | Wheat Ridge CO | 32,081 | $91K | 11.2% | 5.0% | 6% | B+ |
| 806 | Fairland MD | 26,231 | $99K | 10.4% | 6.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 807 | Anoka MN | 18,169 | $76K | 8.3% | 4.8% | 13% | B+ |
| 808 | Franklin Township IN | 22,301 | $83K | 9.5% | 3.9% | 21% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Fairland, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
How Fairland compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Calverton (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairland | – | B+ | A | 35 min | $98,800 |
| Burtonsville | under 3% | A− | A | 33 min | $134,276 |
| Colesville | under 3% | A+ | A | 30 min | $130,682 |
| Calverton | 2% | B+ | A | 31 min | $107,381 |
| Cloverly | under 3% | A− | A− | 35 min | $152,083 |
| White Oak | under 3% | B− | A+ | 34 min | $83,370 |
| Konterra | under 3% | A− | B− | 30 min | $130,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairland’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 Fairland: questions
What is the median household income in Fairland?
$98,800 (±$10,410) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairland?
10.4%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairland?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairland work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (18%, 13 mi), Rockville (6%, 11 mi), Bethesda (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairland walkable?
Fairland is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairland without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairland
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.