Wester Ogle · Photo: Pubdog at en.wikipedia · Public domainGarrison’s household incomes are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
8.0% of residents are in poverty, next to 9.4% for Maryland as a whole. Garrison grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 8.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Garrison in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Garrison than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Garrison fell from 14,887 in 2013 to 5,050 in 2023, −66%. 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 ↓
Garrison and Baltimore trade workers both ways
Baltimore is the top workplace for Garrison residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Garrison come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Garrison draws workers from far and wide
The 5,050 jobs in Garrison are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 37%; the other 61% 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Garrison
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Garrison is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #146 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Garrison’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Garrison could be anywhere from B− to A+.
What Garrison’s employers do
5,050 jobs are based in Garrison.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Garrison, 2013 → 2023: 14,887 → 5,050. 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 Garrison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
26% of working residents work in Baltimore
Where Garrison clocks in
26% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Garrison
On a workday 3,901 residents head out to work, 95 work right here, and 4,955 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Garrison on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 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.
How long Garrison spends getting to work: 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 Garrison workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,689 commuters (the 20% 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.
Garrison’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Garrison is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Garrison is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #26 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Garrison 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 4,588 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% 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 8.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 9.3% of Garrison households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Garrison’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,800, Garrison ranks 984th of 2,831 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 982 | Lower Windsor Township PA | 7,845 | $87K | 7.0% | 3.3% | 3% | B+ |
| 983 | Charlestown RI | 8,002 | $109K | 4.2% | 4.1% | 9% | B+ |
| 984 | Garrison MD | 9,469 | $102K | 8.0% | 5.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 985 | Hamilton Township PA | 11,759 | $100K | 3.7% | 4.0% | 5% | B+ |
| 986 | St. Marys OH | 8,398 | $80K | 6.6% | 1.8% | 24% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,831 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Garrison, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
The towns around Garrison
The biggest share goes to Owings Mills (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Garrison workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrison | – | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $102,423 |
| Pikesville | 4% | A− | A | 25 min | $98,465 |
| Owings Mills | 5% | A− | A | 29 min | $96,243 |
| Randallstown | under 2% | B | A | 32 min | $85,735 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Garrison’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 Garrison: questions
What is the median household income in Garrison?
$102,423 (±$7,598) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Garrison?
8.0%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Garrison?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Garrison work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (26%, 10 mi), Owings Mills (5%, 2 mi), Towson (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Garrison walkable?
Garrison is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.8 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Garrison without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Garrison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Garrison
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.