Ocean City has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For 0% of workers, the job is at home, where Washington as a whole has 20%. There are 25 jobs in Ocean City, and 84 of its residents work somewhere. Only 1% work in Ocean City itself; outside it, Seattle draws the most (13%, 92 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ocean City quiets down on a workday
On a workday 83 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 24 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Ocean City on a workday afternoon, 32% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Ocean City to work: where people go
Where Ocean City clocks in
13% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Ocean City is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ocean City, 2014 → 2024: 28 → 25. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ocean City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 17 minutes each way for Ocean City’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ocean City workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 128 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Ocean City
About 55% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Ocean City and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Copalis Beach (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ocean City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City | – | — | — | 17 min | $80,302 |
| Copalis Beach | 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Hogans Corner | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Copalis Beach and Hogans Corner: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ocean City’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 2024, 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 Ocean City: questions
What is the median household income in Ocean City?
$80,302 (±$59,837) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ocean City?
0.0%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ocean City?
17 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ocean City work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (13%, 92 mi), Ocean Shores (7%, 8 mi), Hoquiam (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Ocean City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ocean City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ocean City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.