Many Bethesda Residents Face Lengthy Commutes, Analysis Shows

How does Bethesda measure up to other medium-sized communities across the country when it comes to residents' commute times?

You guessed it – not so great.

On Numbers, a publication of The Business Journals, recently ranked small- and medium-sized communities across the nation based on residents’ time spent commuting, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey. 

Coming in with the highest score for medium-sized communities was Grand Forks, N.D., which ranked first among 483 communities across the country with populations between 50,000 and 100,000. In Grand Forks, a whopping 68.5 percent of residents spend less than 15 minutes traveling from home to work, and a mere 2.4 percent spend more than 45 minutes, On Numbers reported.

By comparison, Bethesda ranked 404 out of the 483 communities. According to the data analyzed by On Numbers:

• About 19 percent of Bethesda commuters spend 14 minutes or less traveling from work to home
• About 33 percent of Bethesda residents spend 15-29 minutes commuting
• Just over 30 percent of Bethesda residents spend 30-44 minutes commuting
• 17.5 percent of Bethesda residents spend 45 minutes or more commuting

Across the country, on average, 28.7 percent of commuters spend 14 minutes or less getting from home to work, and 15.5 percent spend more than 45 minutes,  according to On Numbers.

Despite the dismal showing nationally, Bethesda fared well when it comes to rank among similar-sized Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to On Numbers’ data. Gaithersburg came in at 436; Rockville at 439; Germantown at 459 and Wheaton-Glenmont at 476.

Read the full report and view a searchable database at On Numbers.