Photo: SlipperyDude · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Kettering earn more than those in 91% of U.S. towns
Kettering grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. The poverty rate is 8.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.8 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
Getting to work from Kettering, in brief
A lot of Kettering workers cross into Washington, D.C.
34% of Kettering workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (31%) and Arlington (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Kettering
72% of Kettering residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Kettering pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Kettering workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 31 across Maryland. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Kettering is a place people come home to
There are 1,561 jobs based in Kettering, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Kettering has about 9,200 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
44% of the jobs in Kettering are in trade, transport and utilities, against 14% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Jobs & income in Kettering: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kettering is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #162 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Kettering’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (7.3%, 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, Kettering could be anywhere from B to A.
31% of working residents work in Washington
Where Kettering clocks in
31% of workers
3% 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.
What Kettering’s employers do
1,561 jobs are based in Kettering.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kettering, 2013 → 2023: 1,712 → 1,561. 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 Kettering’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 41 minutes from Kettering
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kettering workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,492 commuters (the 18% 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.
Kettering on a workday afternoon
On a workday 6,316 residents head out to work, 47 work right here, and 1,514 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,200 people are in Kettering on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
How far Kettering’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.
In Kettering, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kettering is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #84 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Kettering 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 6,689 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 6.9% of Kettering households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Kettering’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kettering next to U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000: 933rd of 2,227 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 931 | Ferguson Township PA | 18,813 | $86K | 18.2% | 4.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 932 | Colchester VT | 17,565 | $98K | 7.0% | 3.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 933 | Kettering MD | 14,014 | $127K | 8.7% | 7.3% | 1% | B+ |
| 934 | Charlestown Township IN | 16,748 | $92K | 9.2% | 3.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 935 | Hampton NH | 16,381 | $95K | 5.6% | 4.9% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Kettering, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Next door to Kettering
The biggest share goes to Lake Arbor (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kettering workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettering | – | B+ | A | 41 min | $126,938 |
| Brock Hall | under 2% | A | B | 42 min | $206,451 |
| Largo | under 2% | B+ | A | 33 min | $103,375 |
| Woodmore | under 2% | A− | B+ | 40 min | $184,286 |
| Lake Arbor | 3% | A | A | 38 min | $121,211 |
| Bowie | 2% | A | A | 35 min | $141,995 |
| Mitchellville | under 2% | A | A | 33 min | $149,347 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kettering’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 Kettering: questions
What is the median household income in Kettering?
$126,938 (±$13,651) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kettering?
8.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kettering?
41 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kettering work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (31%, 12 mi), Baltimore (3%, 30 mi), Lake Arbor (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kettering walkable?
Kettering is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kettering without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kettering, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kettering
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.