Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Severna Park’s household incomes are higher than in 97% of U.S. towns
Severna Park grades A+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Poverty touches 2.8% of residents, next to 9.4% for Maryland as a whole. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.3 in Baltimore.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Severna Park: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Severna Park
73% of Severna Park residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 54% of the jobs based in Severna Park pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Severna Park draws workers from far and wide
The 10,660 jobs in Severna Park are filled from a wide area. Severna Park’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 55% 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.
Income, poverty and work: Severna Park’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Severna Park is better than 98% of U.S. towns, #17 of 261 in Maryland. Household income is its strongest input ($169,953, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Severna Park stays A+.
What Severna Park’s employers do
10,660 jobs are based in Severna Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Severna Park, 2013 → 2023: 9,577 → 10,660. 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 Severna Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
13% of working residents work in Baltimore
Where Severna Park clocks in
13% 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 Severna Park
On a workday 14,540 residents head out to work, 1,451 work right here, and 9,209 people come in from elsewhere.
About 35,000 people are in Severna Park on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
A commute of about 28 minutes in Severna Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Severna Park workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,895 commuters (the 24% 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 many miles Severna Park commutes
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.
Severna Park is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Severna Park is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #146 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Severna Park 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 19,628 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 20% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 2.0% of Severna Park households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Severna Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
11th of 1,086: where Severna Park ranks among U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| 10 | Short Pump VA | 29,026 | $139K | 3.6% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 11 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| 12 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| 13 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Pasadena MD | 34,309 | $130K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Odenton MD | 45,002 | $128K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | 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 Severna Park, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work in the towns next to Severna Park
The biggest share goes to Glen Burnie (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Severna Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severna Park | – | A+ | A− | 28 min | $169,953 |
| Pasadena | 1% | A+ | B− | 32 min | $129,727 |
| Arnold | 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $141,639 |
| Glen Burnie | 4% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $88,280 |
| Lake Shore | under 2% | A | C | 31 min | $130,689 |
| Arden on the Severn | under 2% | A+ | C | 30 min | $125,484 |
| Gambrills | under 2% | A+ | C | 26 min | $148,594 |
| Herald Harbor | under 2% | A+ | C− | 28 min | $147,778 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Severna 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 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 Severna Park: questions
What is the median household income in Severna Park?
$169,953 (±$7,373) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Severna Park?
2.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Severna Park?
28 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Severna Park work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (13%, 15 mi), Parole (6%, 7 mi), Annapolis (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Severna Park walkable?
Severna Park is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Severna Park without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Severna Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Severna Park
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.