Photo: Aspifi · CC BY-SA 4.0There are 2.2 jobs in Towson for every working resident, and 49,231 people commute in
Measured by household income, Towson is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. There are 52,493 jobs in Towson, against 23,365 working residents. About one in seven work in Towson itself; outside it, Baltimore draws the most (32%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Towson
Towson is where the jobs are
Towson has 52,493 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 88,000 people are in town, 50% more than the 59,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Towson and Baltimore trade workers both ways
Baltimore is the top workplace for Towson residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Towson come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Towson residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Commutes from Towson are quick
The average trip to work takes 25 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker. Time on the road ↓
Towson draws workers from far and wide
The 52,493 jobs in Towson are filled from a wide area. Towson’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 34%; the other 60% 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 Towson’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Towson is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #172 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Towson’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Towson could be anywhere from B to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Towson
On a workday 20,103 residents head out to work and 3,262 work right here.
About 88,000 people are in Towson on a workday afternoon, 50% more than live here.
2.2 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where Towson’s workers come from
Where Towson clocks in
32% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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 Towson
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.
Towson’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Towson workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,192 commuters (the 23% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Towson, 2013 → 2023: 55,411 → 52,493. 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 Towson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Towson is more walkable than 96% 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 28,923 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 35% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 14.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 9.0% of Towson households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Towson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Towson places 366th of 749 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 41,000 to 79,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Keller TX | 46,078 | $175K | 3.4% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Ellicott City MD | 75,257 | $157K | 3.7% | 3.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 364 | Kettering OH | 57,396 | $75K | 8.3% | 3.8% | 14% | B+ |
| 365 | Malden MA | 66,370 | $101K | 11.4% | 5.4% | 7% | B+ |
| 366 | Towson MD | 58,679 | $101K | 12.1% | 4.8% | 14% | B+ |
| 367 | Spring TX | 68,580 | $89K | 10.4% | 4.8% | 1% | B+ |
| 368 | Casas Adobes AZ | 72,059 | $84K | 6.6% | 4.3% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 749 | 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 Towson, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
34% of Towson works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Towson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towson | – | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $101,320 |
| Baltimore | 32% | C+ | A+ | 29 min | $62,177 |
| Pikesville | 2% | A− | A | 25 min | $98,465 |
| Parkville | under 2% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $79,178 |
| Hampton | under 2% | A+ | B | 24 min | $170,688 |
| Mays Chapel | under 2% | A | B− | 25 min | $126,996 |
| Lutherville | under 2% | A | A | 25 min | $113,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Baltimore. Darker towns draw more of Towson’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 Towson: questions
What is the median household income in Towson?
$101,320 (±$6,307) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Towson?
12.1%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Towson?
25 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Towson work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (32%, 6 mi), Cockeysville (5%, 6 mi), Timonium (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Towson walkable?
Towson is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Towson without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 35% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Towson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Towson
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.