Work, pay and getting to work in Morningside
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore. The two grades for Morningside are B− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 9% of workers; Maryland has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Morningside stands out on work
Many Morningside workers cross into Washington, D.C.
49% of Morningside workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (27%) and Arlington (5%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Morningside
63% of Morningside residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Morningside pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. 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; with 486 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Morningside’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Morningside is better than 50% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Morningside’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (4.7%) is left out: Morningside’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Morningside could be anywhere from C to A.
27% of working residents work in Washington
Where Morningside clocks in
27% of workers
2% 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 the 456 jobs in Morningside are
456 jobs are based in Morningside.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Morningside, 2013 → 2023: 345 → 456. 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 Morningside’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Morningside on a workday
On a workday 476 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 446 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 (0.94 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.
Morningside’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Morningside workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 363 commuters (the 9% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Morningside
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.
Morningside is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Morningside is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Morningside 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 398 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, 68% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% 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). 5.2% of Morningside households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Morningside’s commuters take a bus or train.
Morningside places 1,669th of 4,866 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Colmar Manor MD | 1,590 | $123K | 2.3% | 4.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | New Market MD | 1,609 | $203K | 0.8% | 1.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,667 | Bevent WI | 1,051 | $92K | 10.3% | 3.3% | 2% | B− |
| 1,668 | Fayetteville AL | 1,154 | $100K | 7.3% | 0.0% | 2% | B− |
| 1,669 | Morningside MD | 1,232 | $69K | 21.4% | 4.7% | 2% | B− |
| 1,670 | Ligonier PA | 1,462 | $71K | 8.9% | 3.9% | 11% | B− |
| 1,671 | Florence TX | 1,245 | $79K | 14.7% | 5.0% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Morningside, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Around Morningside: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Forestville (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Morningside workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morningside | – | B− | A | 28 min | $69,000 |
| Camp Springs | under 2% | A− | A | 38 min | $120,456 |
| Forestville | 2% | B | A+ | 35 min | $70,579 |
| Westphalia | under 2% | A | B | 37 min | $164,197 |
| Andrews AFB | under 2% | A | A | 17 min | $87,407 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Morningside’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 Morningside: questions
What is the median household income in Morningside?
$69,000 (±$37,737) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Morningside?
21.4%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Morningside?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Morningside work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (27%, 9 mi), Arlington (5%, 12 mi), Lake Arbor (2%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Morningside walkable?
Morningside is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Morningside without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 68% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Morningside, from the people who make the trip.
More of Morningside
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.