Riversdale · Photo: Quarterczar · Public domainHousehold incomes in Riverdale Park top those of 88% of U.S. towns
17.7% of residents are in poverty, against 9.4% across Maryland. Only 2% work in Riverdale Park itself; outside it, Washington draws the most (27%, 6 miles). For 26% of workers, the job is at home, where Maryland as a whole has 19%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Riverdale Park
A lot of Riverdale Park workers cross into Washington, D.C.
27% of Riverdale Park workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (27%) and Arlington (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Riverdale Park is where the jobs are
Riverdale Park has 4,167 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most Riverdale Park residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Riverdale Park’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Riverdale Park is better than 79% of U.S. towns, #128 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Riverdale Park’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Riverdale Park could be anywhere from B to A+.
The daily trip into Riverdale Park
Where Riverdale Park clocks in
27% of workers
5% 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.
Who works in Riverdale Park, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,460 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 4,112 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,000 people are in Riverdale Park on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
How far Riverdale Park goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The kinds of work in Riverdale Park
4,167 jobs are based in Riverdale Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riverdale Park, 2014 → 2024: 3,791 → 4,167. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Riverdale Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Riverdale Park spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riverdale Park workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,763 commuters (the 26% 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.
Riverdale Park is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,723 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, 70% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 28.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 7.1% of Riverdale Park households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Riverdale Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Riverdale Park is 841st of 3,154 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Fulton MD | 5,677 | $222K | 0.7% | 1.7% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Hampton MD | 5,372 | $171K | 3.8% | 0.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 839 | Boston NY | 7,879 | $92K | 4.9% | 3.7% | 6% | A− |
| 840 | Liberty Township OH | 7,179 | $101K | 7.5% | 2.4% | 4% | A− |
| 841 | Riverdale Park MD | 7,343 | $120K | 17.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A− |
| 842 | Oceanport NJ | 6,540 | $126K | 4.1% | 7.3% | 5% | A− |
| 843 | Cedarburg WI | 6,169 | $124K | 4.5% | 6.3% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Riverdale Park, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Riverdale Park and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to College Park (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Riverdale Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale Park | – | A− | A+ | 30 min | $120,043 |
| East Riverdale | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 33 min | $81,831 |
| Edmonston | under 2% | A− | A+ | 31 min | $78,333 |
| College Park | 5% | B+ | A+ | 26 min | $69,721 |
| Hyattsville | 1% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $91,941 |
| Greenbelt | under 2% | B− | A+ | 34 min | $85,997 |
| University Park | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 32 min | $207,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Riverdale Park’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 2024, 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 Riverdale Park: questions
What is the median household income in Riverdale Park?
$120,043 (±$28,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riverdale Park?
17.7%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riverdale Park?
30 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riverdale Park work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (27%, 6 mi), College Park (5%, 2 mi), Bethesda (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Riverdale Park walkable?
Riverdale Park is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.7 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Riverdale Park without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 70% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riverdale Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riverdale Park
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.