Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5More people are out of work in Williamsport (11.9%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Williamsport itself; outside it, Hagerstown draws the most (15%, 6 miles). Williamsport grades C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 3% of workers have no commute at all, against 19% across Maryland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Williamsport and work: the main findings
Williamsport and Hagerstown trade workers both ways
Hagerstown is the top workplace for Williamsport residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Williamsport come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Williamsport are quick
The average trip to work takes 22 minutes, against 31 across Maryland. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Maryland worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Williamsport workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 19% across Maryland. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 977 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Why Williamsport gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Williamsport is better than 18% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Williamsport’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Williamsport could be anywhere from D to B.
Where Williamsport goes to work
Where Williamsport clocks in
15% of workers
5% 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.
How long Williamsport spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Williamsport workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 938 commuters (the 3% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Williamsport
On a workday 955 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 877 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
899 jobs are based in Williamsport.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Williamsport, 2013 → 2023: 824 → 899. 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 Williamsport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Williamsport
About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Williamsport is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Williamsport is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Williamsport 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 968 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). 7.1% of Williamsport households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Williamsport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Williamsport places 4,107th of 5,404 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Cabin John MD | 2,179 | $250K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Colmar Manor MD | 1,590 | $123K | 2.3% | 4.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,105 | Belcourt ND | 1,547 | $91K | 27.7% | 0.0% | 48% | C− |
| 4,106 | Craigsville WV | 2,190 | $40K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 7% | C− |
| 4,107 | Williamsport MD | 2,112 | $62K | 23.3% | 11.9% | 2% | C− |
| 4,108 | Gregory TX | 1,708 | $47K | 39.2% | 5.2% | 3% | C− |
| 4,109 | Hartley Township PA | 1,717 | $67K | 15.2% | 0.7% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Williamsport, 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 Williamsport: questions
What is the median household income in Williamsport?
$61,607 (±$18,746) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Williamsport?
23.3%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Williamsport?
22 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Williamsport work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hagerstown (15%, 6 mi), Halfway (5%, 3 mi), Frederick (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Williamsport walkable?
Williamsport is more walkable than 76% 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 Williamsport without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Williamsport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Williamsport
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.