Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Jefferson are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Jefferson itself; outside it, Frederick draws the most (21%, 8 miles). Poverty touches 2.0% of residents (Maryland 9.4%). The two grades for Jefferson are A+ for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Jefferson
The better-paid jobs are outside Jefferson
73% of Jefferson residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Jefferson pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Jefferson is a place people come home to
There are 343 jobs based in Jefferson, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Jefferson has about 2,300 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
The four measures behind Jefferson’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Jefferson is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #40 of 261 in Maryland. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 69% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jefferson could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Inside Jefferson’s 343 jobs
343 jobs are based in Jefferson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson, 2013 → 2023: 312 → 343. 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 Jefferson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Jefferson
On a workday 1,306 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 320 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Jefferson on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.26 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.
Where people from Jefferson work
Where Jefferson clocks in
21% 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.
How long Jefferson spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,441 commuters (the 26% 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 Jefferson commutes less than 20 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.
Few in Jefferson walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #248 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Jefferson 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 1,957 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.7% of Jefferson households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Jefferson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Jefferson is 183rd among 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Brown Station MD | 3,451 | $169K | 3.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Naval Academy MD | 3,006 | $122K | 1.5% | 4.4% | 0% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 44 | Herald Harbor MD | 2,430 | $148K | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 181 | Janesville WI | 3,699 | $103K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 182 | Farmington WI | 3,586 | $102K | 1.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| 183 | Jefferson MD | 3,314 | $151K | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2% | A+ |
| 184 | Piermont NY | 2,607 | $140K | 1.1% | 4.4% | 5% | A+ |
| 185 | Rush NY | 3,468 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Jefferson, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
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 Jefferson: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson?
$150,854 (±$20,304) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson?
2.0%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Frederick (21%, 8 mi), Ballenger Creek (7%, 6 mi), Rockville (3%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson walkable?
Jefferson is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jefferson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson
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.