Unemployment in Marlow Heights (15.1%) is among the highest in the country
Measured by household income, Marlow Heights is behind 81% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Marlow Heights is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Home is the office for 8% of workers, against 19% across Maryland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Marlow Heights: the figures worth knowing
Many Marlow Heights workers cross into Washington, D.C.
61% of Marlow Heights workers work outside Maryland, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Marlow Heights trades workers with the towns around it
Marlow Heights has about as many jobs (2,139) as working residents (2,327), but they are mostly different people: 2,283 residents leave for work each day while 2,095 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Marlow Heights are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Marlow Heights’ working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 37 minutes, longer than the Maryland average of 31. Time on the road ↓
Many of the people who work in Marlow Heights live in another state
Washington, DC (11%) and Alexandria, VA (2%) are among the top places Marlow Heights’ workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 13% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Marlow Heights and Washington trade workers both ways
Washington is the top workplace for Marlow Heights residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Marlow Heights come from (11% of its jobs). 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.
Where Marlow Heights’ Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Marlow Heights’ grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marlow Heights could be anywhere from C− to C.
32% of working residents work in Washington
Where Marlow Heights clocks in
32% 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.
In and out of Marlow Heights on a workday
On a workday 2,283 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 2,095 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 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.
About 37 minutes each way, longer than most of Maryland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marlow Heights workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,961 commuters (the 8% 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.
Inside Marlow Heights’ 2,139 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marlow Heights, 2013 → 2023: 2,247 → 2,139. 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 Marlow Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Marlow Heights
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.
Marlow Heights is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marlow Heights is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #14 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Marlow Heights 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 2,120 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 36% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 16.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% 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). 22.5% of Marlow Heights households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 19% of Marlow Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
2,923rd of 3,612: where Marlow Heights ranks among U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Fulton MD | 5,677 | $222K | 0.7% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Riva MD | 4,976 | $176K | 1.1% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Hampton MD | 5,372 | $171K | 3.8% | 0.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,921 | Roanoke AL | 5,440 | $47K | 12.5% | 3.4% | 30% | C− |
| 2,922 | Gladstone MI | 5,189 | $55K | 14.1% | 3.9% | 16% | C− |
| 2,923 | Marlow Heights MD | 5,456 | $56K | 31.5% | 15.1% | 2% | C− |
| 2,924 | Edenton NC | 4,546 | $38K | 30.0% | 0.0% | 33% | C− |
| 2,925 | Freeland PA | 3,811 | $58K | 24.0% | 5.2% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | 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 Marlow Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work in the towns next to Marlow Heights
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marlow Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlow Heights | – | C− | A+ | 37 min | $55,502 |
| Hillcrest Heights | under 2% | B | A+ | 37 min | $82,785 |
| Temple Hills | under 2% | C+ | A | 33 min | $66,841 |
| Camp Springs | under 2% | A− | A | 38 min | $120,456 |
| Glassmanor | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 34 min | $66,327 |
| Silver Hill | under 2% | B− | A+ | 33 min | $60,625 |
| Oxon Hill | under 2% | A− | A | 39 min | $93,252 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Marlow Heights’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 Marlow Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Marlow Heights?
$55,502 (±$8,624) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marlow Heights?
31.5%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marlow Heights?
37 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marlow Heights work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (32%, 7 mi), Arlington (5%, 10 mi), National Harbor (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marlow Heights walkable?
Marlow Heights is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marlow Heights without a car?
19% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marlow Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marlow Heights
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.