Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainGermantown has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B+: better than 75% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #145 of 261 in Maryland.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns · #57 of 261 in Maryland.
Household incomes here are higher than in 87% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 31 minutes each way (Maryland 31, U.S. 26). Only 8% work in Germantown; the top destination outside it is Rockville (11%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Germantown
What’s behind Germantown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Germantown is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #145 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Germantown’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.6%, 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, Germantown could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
11% of working residents work in Rockville
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Germantown clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Germantown quiets down on a workday
On a workday 37,479 residents head out to work, 3,109 work right here, and 16,561 people come in from elsewhere.
About 70,000 people are in Germantown on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.48 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.
65% of the jobs in Germantown pay over $3,333 a month
19,670 jobs are based in Germantown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Germantown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Germantown, 2013 → 2023: 20,137 → 19,670. 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.
About 31 minutes each way, about the MD average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Germantown workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 38,419 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.
Half of Germantown commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Germantown is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Germantown is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #57 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Germantown 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 49,472 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, 56% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 12.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 7.5% of Germantown households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Germantown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Germantown is 168th of 484 U.S. towns of 64,000 to 122,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Germantown, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Rockville MD | 67,563 | $129K | 7.6% | 3.9% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 166 | Kendall FL | 79,562 | $87K | 11.2% | 3.3% | 11% | B+ |
| 167 | Riverview FL | 113,697 | $100K | 7.5% | 4.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 168 | Germantown MD | 90,719 | $118K | 8.8% | 5.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 169 | Coon Rapids MN | 64,193 | $88K | 8.2% | 4.5% | 11% | B+ |
| 170 | San Leandro CA | 85,353 | $101K | 8.3% | 5.3% | 12% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 484 | 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.
Germantown and the towns next door
Darker towns draw more of Germantown’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Germantown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown | – | B+ | A+ | 31 min | $117,546 |
| Clarksburg | under 2% | A | A− | 34 min | $176,678 |
| Darnestown | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 37 min | $232,135 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Germantown: questions
What is the median household income in Germantown?
$117,546 (±$5,406) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Germantown?
8.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Germantown?
31 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Germantown work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rockville (11%, 8 mi), Gaithersburg (9%, 4 mi), Washington (8%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Germantown walkable?
Germantown is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Germantown without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 56% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Germantown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Germantown
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.