Photo: Pubdog · Public domainHouseholds in Shady Side earn more than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Shady Side grades B+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. 3.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.4% across Maryland. Only 3% work in Shady Side itself; outside it, Parole draws the most (9%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Shady Side
Fewer jobs are based in Shady Side than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Shady Side fell from 1,222 in 2013 to 447 in 2023, −63%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Shady Side is a place people come home to
There are 447 jobs based in Shady Side, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Shady Side has about 2,700 people in it, 43% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Shady Side
71% of Shady Side residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in Shady Side pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Shady Side workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 31 across Maryland. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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.
The four measures behind Shady Side’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shady Side is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #161 of 261 in Maryland. Household income holds Shady Side’s grade up ($153,661, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shady Side could be anywhere from B− to A.
Inside Shady Side’s 447 jobs
447 jobs are based in Shady Side.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shady Side, 2013 → 2023: 1,222 → 447. 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 Shady Side’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Shady Side on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,394 residents head out to work, 82 work right here, and 365 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Shady Side on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.18 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.
Time on the road from Shady Side: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shady Side workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,289 commuters (the 15% 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.
Commuting out of Shady Side: the destinations
Where Shady Side clocks in
6% 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 it is to work from Shady Side
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.
Getting around Shady Side: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shady Side is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns, #240 of 261 in Maryland. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 2,690 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.7% of Shady Side households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shady Side’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,170th of 3,867: where Shady Side ranks among U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Fulton MD | 5,677 | $222K | 0.7% | 1.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Riva MD | 4,976 | $176K | 1.1% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Brown Station MD | 3,451 | $169K | 3.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,168 | Winterport ME | 3,838 | $98K | 5.7% | 1.7% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,169 | Vernon Township PA | 5,223 | $76K | 4.1% | 2.5% | 18% | B+ |
| 1,170 | Shady Side MD | 4,727 | $154K | 3.8% | 4.4% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,171 | Triana AL | 5,244 | $110K | 8.2% | 4.4% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,172 | Merchantville NJ | 4,241 | $91K | 16.7% | 3.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,867 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Shady Side, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Shady Side and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Deale (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shady Side workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Side | – | B+ | C | 37 min | $153,661 |
| Galesville | under 2% | A+ | D | 36 min | $205,205 |
| Deale | 4% | B+ | A− | 44 min | $125,510 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shady Side’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 Shady Side: questions
What is the median household income in Shady Side?
$153,661 (±$24,073) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shady Side?
3.8%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shady Side?
37 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shady Side work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parole (9%, 11 mi), Annapolis (6%, 10 mi), Washington (5%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shady Side walkable?
Shady Side is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shady Side without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shady Side, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shady Side
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.