Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Wheaton works elsewhere
8,645 jobs are based in Wheaton, against 20,625 working residents. Measured by household income, Wheaton is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Only 4% stay in Wheaton for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (21%, 10 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 Wheaton
A lot of Wheaton workers cross into Washington, D.C.
22% of Wheaton workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (21%) and Arlington (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Wheaton draws workers from far and wide
The 8,645 jobs in Wheaton are filled from a wide area. Wheaton’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 67% 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Wheaton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wheaton is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #187 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Wheaton’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wheaton could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Commuting out of Wheaton: the destinations
Where Wheaton clocks in
21% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Who commutes out of Wheaton, and who commutes in
On a workday 19,881 residents head out to work, 744 work right here, and 7,901 people come in from elsewhere.
About 41,000 people are in Wheaton on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
The kinds of work in Wheaton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wheaton, 2013 → 2023: 8,432 → 8,645. 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 Wheaton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Wheaton’s commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wheaton workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 21,519 commuters (the 20% 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 far Wheaton 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.
Wheaton is more walkable than 98% 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 27,012 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, 55% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 41.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 12.1% of Wheaton households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 14% of Wheaton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Wheaton is 467th among 837 U.S. towns of 37,000 to 71,000
| # | 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 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Bethesda MD | 69,397 | $192K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Potomac MD | 45,902 | $237K | 3.9% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 465 | Security-Widefield CO | 37,345 | $91K | 7.3% | 5.3% | 5% | B |
| 466 | Winfield Township IL | 46,284 | $103K | 10.5% | 7.9% | 9% | B |
| 467 | Wheaton MD | 52,926 | $111K | 13.1% | 6.9% | 4% | B |
| 468 | Lockport Township IL | 60,618 | $85K | 9.4% | 6.2% | 7% | B |
| 469 | La Mesa CA | 59,914 | $95K | 11.5% | 6.2% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 837 | 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 Wheaton, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
How Wheaton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to North Bethesda (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wheaton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheaton | – | B | A+ | 32 min | $111,478 |
| Glenmont | under 2% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $126,542 |
| North Bethesda | 5% | A | A+ | 30 min | $129,092 |
| Kemp Mill | under 2% | B+ | A | 31 min | $146,354 |
| Aspen Hill | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 34 min | $111,575 |
| North Kensington | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 30 min | $135,040 |
| Forest Glen | under 2% | A− | A+ | 32 min | $127,820 |
| South Kensington | under 2% | A | A+ | 29 min | $210,953 |
| Colesville | under 2% | A+ | A | 30 min | $130,682 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wheaton’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 Wheaton: questions
What is the median household income in Wheaton?
$111,478 (±$8,996) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wheaton?
13.1%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wheaton?
32 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wheaton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (21%, 10 mi), Rockville (8%, 6 mi), Bethesda (7%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wheaton walkable?
Wheaton is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wheaton without a car?
14% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 55% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wheaton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wheaton
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.