Photo: Pubdog · Public domainMost of Savage commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
1,009 jobs are based in Savage, and 3,213 of its residents work somewhere. Savage grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. Measured by household income, Savage is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Savage: the figures worth knowing
The better-paid jobs are outside Savage
71% of Savage residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Savage pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Savage are quick
The average trip to work takes 24 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker, and quicker than any town next door (27 to 28 minutes). Time on the road ↓
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.
How Savage earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Savage is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #96 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Savage’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Savage could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Savage
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Savage, 2013 → 2023: 1,082 → 1,009. 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 Savage’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes to work from Savage
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Savage workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,937 commuters (the 18% 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.
A workday in Savage: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,192 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 988 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,000 people are in Savage on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Columbia
Where Savage clocks in
9% of workers
5% 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.
How far Savage goes 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.
Most trips from Savage start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Savage is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #187 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 4,788 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 2.9% of Savage households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Savage’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,956 U.S. towns of 5,800 to 11,100, Savage comes 568th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Fairwood MD | 7,526 | $181K | 6.5% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 566 | Thornapple Township MI | 9,692 | $91K | 5.6% | 1.9% | 12% | A |
| 567 | Alum Rock CA | 10,440 | $127K | 6.2% | 4.5% | 1% | A |
| 568 | Savage MD | 8,239 | $117K | 5.6% | 4.8% | 1% | A |
| 569 | Ralston NE | 6,382 | $69K | 4.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A |
| 570 | Hopkinton NH | 6,120 | $137K | 6.5% | 1.3% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,956 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Savage, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Savage and its neighbors: 16% work next door
The biggest share goes to Columbia (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Savage workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savage | – | A | B | 24 min | $116,895 |
| North Laurel | 2% | A+ | B+ | 28 min | $122,949 |
| Columbia | 12% | A | A | 28 min | $131,490 |
| Jessup | 2% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $128,851 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Savage’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 Savage: questions
What is the median household income in Savage?
$116,895 (±$28,309) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Savage?
5.6%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Savage?
24 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Savage work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbia (12%, 4 mi), Baltimore (9%, 16 mi), Washington (5%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Savage walkable?
Savage is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Savage without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Savage, from the people who make the trip.
More of Savage
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.