Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Westminster (5.2%) than in 64% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Westminster itself; outside it, Baltimore draws the most (8%, 29 miles). Westminster grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 29 minutes; Maryland averages 31, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Westminster, in a few figures
Westminster draws workers from far and wide
The 12,027 jobs in Westminster are filled from a wide area. Westminster’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 18%; the other 72% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
No single place dominates Westminster’s commute
The biggest draw, Baltimore, gets only 8% of working residents, and 61% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Westminster residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Westminster’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Westminster is Baltimore, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (688) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 Westminster’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Westminster is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #197 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Westminster’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Westminster could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Where Westminster goes to work
Where Westminster clocks in
8% 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 distance from Westminster 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.
Who leaves Westminster for work, and who comes in
On a workday 7,929 residents head out to work, 1,204 work right here, and 10,823 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Westminster on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The 12,027 jobs based in Westminster
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Westminster, 2013 → 2023: 10,618 → 12,027. 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 Westminster’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes to work from Westminster
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westminster workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,676 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.
Westminster is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Westminster is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #135 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Westminster 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 10,255 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.7% of Westminster households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Westminster’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Westminster ranks: 1,097th of 1,931 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Colesville MD | 14,519 | $131K | 3.4% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | North Laurel MD | 25,563 | $123K | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Arnold MD | 24,303 | $142K | 3.1% | 2.6% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,095 | Forest Park OH | 20,041 | $76K | 10.6% | 5.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,096 | North Myrtle Beach SC | 21,346 | $73K | 7.4% | 4.0% | 26% | B |
| 1,097 | Westminster MD | 20,589 | $86K | 10.0% | 5.2% | 13% | B |
| 1,098 | Northfield MN | 21,992 | $85K | 8.8% | 4.9% | 35% | B |
| 1,099 | South San Jose Hills CA | 16,911 | $95K | 11.6% | 8.2% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Westminster, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
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 Westminster: questions
What is the median household income in Westminster?
$86,219 (±$13,458) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westminster?
10.0%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westminster?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westminster work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baltimore (8%, 29 mi), Columbia (3%, 27 mi), Owings Mills (3%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Westminster walkable?
Westminster is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Westminster without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Westminster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westminster
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.