Bethesda

Population & Demographics

Bethesda, MD

Bethesda is home to 69,397 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 28,579 resident workers commute each day.

MarylandCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
69,397
people
Population

69,397 residents

Median age 42.8 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Bethesda population & demographics

Who lives in Bethesda — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
69,397
Median age
42.8yrs
Median household income
$192,237
Median home value
$1,169,900
Median gross rent
$2,469/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
87.1%
Poverty rate
4.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Bethesda

How Bethesda breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White65.7%
Asian12.7%
Hispanic or Latino9.6%
Black6.3%
Two or more races5.0%
Some other race0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.0%

Race across Bethesda

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Bethesda.

Bethesda at a glance
Employed Residents
28,579
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
7.4mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
16.4%
Share working within the area
Work from home
38.0%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Washington
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Bethesda proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Bethesda commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

50
Commute Score

50 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Bethesda

28,579 commutes, one dot at a time

Bethesda

Where 28,579 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Bethesda, by worker count.

1Washington7.4 mi8,220
2Bethesda0.0 mi4,685
3Rockville7.2 mi1,091
4North Bethesda3.7 mi1,052
5Arlington7.3 mi774
6Potomac4.6 mi728
7Gaithersburg11.5 mi668
8Tysons7.4 mi605

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Bethesda.

1Washington7.4 mi6,129
2Bethesda0.0 mi4,685
3Rockville7.2 mi2,668
4Germantown15.6 mi2,515
5North Bethesda3.7 mi2,359
6Silver Spring5.1 mi2,299
7Gaithersburg11.5 mi1,928
8Potomac4.6 mi1,922

Top industries

The sectors that employ Bethesda’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
PAPublic Administration21.8%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services15.9%
FIFinance and Insurance9.2%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance8.4%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services6.6%
AFAccommodation and Food Services5.7%
OSOther Services (except Public Administration)5.3%
EDEducational Services5.2%
RTRetail Trade4.9%
Connectivity

Internet options for Bethesda

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

3 providers · 1 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Bethesda

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).