Photo: Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Frederick have higher incomes than those in 74% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore. 9.2% of residents are in poverty; Maryland has 9.4%. Frederick grades 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
The commute and the jobs: Frederick in brief
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Frederick
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Frederick is better than 72% of U.S. towns, #157 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Frederick could be anywhere from B to A−.
8% of working residents work in Ballenger Creek
Where Frederick clocks in
4% 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.
A workday in Frederick: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 28,154 residents head out to work, 8,866 work right here, and 37,272 people come in from elsewhere.
About 101,000 people are in Frederick on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What Frederick’s employers do
46,138 jobs are based in Frederick.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Frederick, 2013 → 2023: 44,078 → 46,138. 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 Frederick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Frederick’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Frederick workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37,060 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.
How far Frederick’s workers travel
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Frederick
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Frederick is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #66 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Frederick near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 44,912 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 42% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 6.7% of Frederick households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Frederick’s commuters take a bus or train.
Frederick is 195th of 495 U.S. towns of 64,000 to 124,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 76 | Rockville MD | 67,563 | $129K | 7.6% | 3.9% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Whittier CA | 85,815 | $97K | 9.1% | 5.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 194 | Buena Park CA | 81,741 | $111K | 8.8% | 5.6% | 7% | B+ |
| 195 | Frederick MD | 92,059 | $97K | 9.2% | 3.9% | 24% | B+ |
| 196 | Georgetown TX | 106,907 | $95K | 8.0% | 4.9% | 16% | B+ |
| 197 | Norwalk CA | 97,104 | $100K | 9.3% | 5.7% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 495 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Frederick, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Around Frederick: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Ballenger Creek (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Frederick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick | – | B+ | A | 30 min | $97,069 |
| Ballenger Creek | 8% | A− | A− | 33 min | $108,944 |
| Linganore | under 2% | A+ | C | 41 min | $175,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Frederick’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 Frederick: questions
What is the median household income in Frederick?
$97,069 (±$4,612) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Frederick?
9.2%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Frederick?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Frederick work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ballenger Creek (8%, 4 mi), Rockville (4%, 28 mi), Gaithersburg (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Frederick walkable?
Frederick is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Frederick without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 42% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Frederick, from the people who make the trip.
More of Frederick
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.