Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBaltimore has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs and income earn Baltimore C+; getting around on foot earns it B+. Baltimore has 754 jobs, and 1,415 of its residents work somewhere. Only 8% work in Baltimore; the top destination outside it is Columbus (26%, 22 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Baltimore, in a few figures
Baltimore’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Baltimore is Columbus, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 26% of working residents (370) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Baltimore workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 23 across Ohio. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 38 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.
Baltimore’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Baltimore is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #776 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Baltimore’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.6%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Baltimore could be anywhere from C− to A.
Near or far: the trip to work from Baltimore
About 16% 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.
About 28 minutes each way, longer than most of Ohio
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Baltimore workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,246 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Ohio: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of Baltimore on a workday
On a workday 1,303 residents head out to work, 112 work right here, and 642 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Baltimore on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
Where the trip to work from Baltimore ends
Where Baltimore clocks in
26% of workers
10% of workers
3% 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.
Baltimore makes things: 33% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Baltimore, 2013 → 2023: 588 → 754. 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 Baltimore’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Baltimore start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Baltimore is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #239 of 993 in Ohio. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.7% across Ohio, on an EPA index of 7.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,333 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). 6.4% of Baltimore households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Baltimore’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200, Baltimore comes 2,943rd on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Jersey Township OH | 2,678 | $136K | 2.4% | 1.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Silver Lake OH | 2,504 | $140K | 2.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Evendale OH | 2,657 | $149K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,941 | Palermo NY | 3,437 | $72K | 20.4% | 3.7% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,942 | Edneyville NC | 2,716 | $54K | 22.3% | 0.5% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,943 | Baltimore OH | 3,110 | $60K | 12.5% | 6.6% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,944 | Kittanning PA | 3,941 | $52K | 20.7% | 1.9% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,945 | Ironwood Township MI | 2,205 | $69K | 12.2% | 2.8% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Baltimore, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Around Baltimore: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Baltimore workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | – | C+ | B+ | 28 min | $59,769 |
| Liberty Township | under 2% | A− | C | 27 min | $100,479 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Baltimore’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 Baltimore: questions
What is the median household income in Baltimore?
$59,769 (±$19,897) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Baltimore?
12.5%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Baltimore?
28 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Baltimore work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Columbus (26%, 22 mi), Lancaster (10%, 8 mi), Pickerington (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Baltimore walkable?
Baltimore is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Baltimore without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Baltimore, from the people who make the trip.
More of Baltimore
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.