Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Middle River
Middle River grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore. Only 5% stay in Middle River for work; outside it, Baltimore is the main destination (27%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Middle River: the figures worth knowing
Middle River and Baltimore trade workers both ways
Baltimore is the top workplace for Middle River residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Middle River come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Middle River draws workers from far and wide
The 12,241 jobs in Middle River are filled from a wide area. Middle River’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 58% 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.
Jobs & income in Middle River: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Middle River is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #207 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Middle River’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Middle River could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Where Middle River goes to work
Where Middle River clocks in
27% of workers
5% 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 daily commute in and out of Middle River
On a workday 14,017 residents head out to work, 809 work right here, and 11,432 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 (0.83 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.
The kinds of work in Middle River
12,241 jobs are based in Middle River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middle River, 2013 → 2023: 11,449 → 12,241. 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 Middle River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Middle River takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middle River workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,452 commuters (the 14% 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.
How far Middle River’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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Middle River
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Middle River is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #121 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 15,665 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 65% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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 Middle River households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Middle River’s commuters take a bus or train.
839th of 1,368: where Middle River ranks among U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 837 | Georgetown KY | 40,883 | $80K | 12.1% | 4.2% | 29% | B |
| 838 | West Puente Valley CA | 22,495 | $88K | 13.2% | 6.8% | 2% | B |
| 839 | Middle River MD | 31,712 | $78K | 14.7% | 4.4% | 5% | B |
| 840 | Wooster OH | 27,115 | $67K | 9.2% | 3.8% | 39% | B |
| 841 | South Kingstown RI | 32,009 | $109K | 8.9% | 6.7% | 27% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,368 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Middle River, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work in the towns next to Middle River
The biggest share goes to Rossville (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Middle River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle River | – | B | A− | 28 min | $78,398 |
| Essex | 2% | B− | A | 29 min | $67,168 |
| Bowleys Quarters | under 2% | A− | B | 29 min | $99,534 |
| White Marsh | 2% | A | B− | 31 min | $117,426 |
| Rossville | 4% | A− | A | 29 min | $90,000 |
| Rosedale | under 2% | B | A | 29 min | $85,711 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Middle River’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 Middle River: questions
What is the median household income in Middle River?
$78,398 (±$4,298) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middle River?
14.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middle River?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middle River work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (27%, 10 mi), Towson (5%, 11 mi), Rossville (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Middle River walkable?
Middle River is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Middle River without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middle River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middle River
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.