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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Bethesda, MD
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Bethesda profile


Living in Bethesda



Bethesda is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of Maryland. With a population of 68,056 people and 20 constituent neighborhoods, Bethesda is the tenth largest community in Maryland.

Bethesda home prices are not only among the most expensive in Maryland, but Bethesda real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Bethesda has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Also of interest is that Bethesda has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Of important note, Bethesda is also a town of artists. Bethesda has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Bethesda’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 24.73% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another interesting thing about Bethesda, despite not being a huge town, is that there is a relatively high proportion of people living here who are young, single, and upwardly-mobile professionals. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

In addition to being popular with young singles, Bethesda is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

One downside of living in Bethesda is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Bethesda, the average commute to work is 31.13 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.

For the size of the town, public transportation in Bethesda is quite heavily used. Mostly, people who use it for their daily commute are taking the subway. For Bethesda, the benefits are reduced air pollution and congestion on the highways.

If knowledge is power, Bethesda is a pretty powerful place. 87.91% of the adults in Bethesda have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Bethesda in 2018 was $108,611, which is wealthy relative to Maryland and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $434,444 for a family of four.

Bethesda is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Bethesda home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bethesda residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Bethesda include Irish, German, English, Italian, and Russian.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Bethesda's cultural character, accounting for 24.26% of the town’s population.

The most common language spoken in Bethesda is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.