Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0Olney’s household incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.3 in Baltimore. Below the poverty line: 4.3% of residents (Maryland 9.4%). For jobs and income Olney is better than 95% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Olney apart
Home offices are common in Olney
32% of Olney workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Time on the road ↓
Olney draws workers from far and wide
The 7,642 jobs in Olney are filled from a wide area. Olney’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 64% 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.
The figures behind Olney’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($171,458, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Olney could be anywhere from A to A+.
A commute of about 32 minutes in Olney
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Olney workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,445 commuters (the 32% 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.
11% of working residents work in Washington
Where Olney clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
6% 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.
A workday in Olney: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 16,896 residents head out to work, 964 work right here, and 6,678 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Olney on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.43 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Olney
7,642 jobs are based in Olney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Olney, 2013 → 2023: 7,035 → 7,642. 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 Olney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Olney to work
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.
Olney is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 18,320 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 85% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 40% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 1.6% of Olney households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Olney’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,219 U.S. towns of 25,000 to 48,000, Olney comes 98th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Pasadena MD | 34,309 | $130K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Belmont MA | 27,118 | $183K | 3.6% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| 97 | Bridgewater Township NJ | 46,455 | $173K | 4.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 98 | Olney MD | 35,797 | $171K | 4.3% | 3.6% | 5% | A |
| 99 | Cumberland RI | 37,615 | $118K | 3.9% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| 100 | Batavia IL | 26,586 | $120K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,219 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Olney, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Next door to Olney
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Olney workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olney | – | A | A | 32 min | $171,458 |
| Ashton-Sandy Spring | under 3% | A+ | A | 36 min | $174,063 |
| Aspen Hill | under 3% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $111,575 |
| Brookeville | under 3% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Leisure World | under 3% | C+ | A | 40 min | $62,011 |
Same-state neighbors only. Brookeville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Olney’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 Olney: questions
What is the median household income in Olney?
$171,458 (±$6,994) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Olney?
4.3%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Olney?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Olney work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (11%, 17 mi), Rockville (10%, 6 mi), Bethesda (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Olney walkable?
Olney is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Olney without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 40% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Olney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Olney
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.