Are you sick of being a city slicker?
Do you long for life in suburban Maryland? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.
We do, too.
If you wanted to move out to the suburbs in Maryland, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Maryland suburb was best?
No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.
$151,324 median income · $639,007 median home price
Located in
Frederick County, Maryland
Mount Airy is a town located in Carroll and Frederick counties in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of both the Washington Metropolitan Area and Baltimore Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 9,288.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$121,676 median income · $462,578 median home price
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$128,649 median income · $618,892 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Maryland
Rockville is a U.S. city located in the central region of Montgomery County, Maryland. It is the county seat and is a major incorporated city of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The 2010 census tabulated Rockville’s population at 61,209, making it the third largest incorporated city in Maryland, behind Baltimore and Frederick. Rockville is the largest incorporated city in Montgomery County, Maryland, although the nearby census-designated place of Germantown is more populous.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$141,995 median income · $524,118 median home price
Located in
Prince George’s County, Maryland
Bowie is a city in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George’s County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2014 CNN Money ranked Bowie 28th in its Best Places to Live in America list.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$97,871 median income · $439,359 median home price
Located in
Carroll County, Maryland
Hampstead is a town in Carroll County in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 6,323 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$205,919 median income · $736,648 median home price
Poolesville is a town in the western portion of Montgomery County, Maryland. The population was 4,883 at the 2010 United States Census. It is surrounded by the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, and is considered a distant bedroom community for commuters to Washington, D.C.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$112,467 median income · $527,608 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Maryland
Gaithersburg ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland. At the time of the 2010 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 59,933, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville. Gaithersburg is located to the northwest of Washington, D.C., and is considered a suburb and a primary city within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gaithersburg was incorporated as a town in 1878 and as a city in 1968.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$121,208 median income · $481,282 median home price
Located in
Charles County, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 8,753 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,860 median income · $618,838 median home price
Located in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, 25 miles south of Baltimore and about 30 miles east of Washington, D.C., Annapolis is part of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. Its population was measured at 38,394 by the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$138,895 median income · $462,696 median home price
Located in
Calvert County, Maryland
Chesapeake Beach is a town in Calvert County, Maryland. Its major attractions include the Chesapeake Beach Railway Station, the Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail, a water park, marinas, piers, and charter boat fishing. The town’s population was recorded as 5,753 in the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maryland’s statewide median.
Maryland statewide median: $103,678
Maryland statewide median: $429,705
On the map
Where Maryland’s best suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Old Line State
We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Maryland. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”
First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Maryland, we looked at every town with at least 5,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.
In other words, suburbs.
We paid particular attention to the following criteria:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher is Better)
- Unemployment Rates
- Commute Time
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We ranked each suburb in Maryland across these criteria from one to 23, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Maryland.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Maryland.
Read on to see why Mount Airy is the ‘burb with the most, while Bladensburg is probably not the best place to live in Maryland.
The full plate
The Best Suburbs In Maryland
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Airy | 9,805 | $151,324 | $639,007 |
| 2 | Manchester | 5,439 | $121,676 | $462,578 |
| 3 | Rockville | 67,671 | $128,649 | $618,892 |
| 4 | Bowie | 57,926 | $141,995 | $524,118 |
| 5 | Hampstead | 6,251 | $97,871 | $439,359 |
| 6 | Poolesville | 5,764 | $205,919 | $736,648 |
| 7 | Gaithersburg | 69,825 | $112,467 | $527,608 |
| 8 | La Plata | 10,683 | $121,208 | $481,282 |
| 9 | Annapolis | 40,720 | $113,860 | $618,838 |
| 10 | Chesapeake Beach | 6,456 | $138,895 | $462,696 |
| 10 | Cheverly | 6,096 | $123,535 | $468,344 |
| 12 | Glenarden | 6,344 | $106,414 | $413,332 |
| 13 | Westminster | 20,445 | $86,219 | $462,869 |
| 14 | Takoma Park | 17,632 | $108,136 | $686,399 |
| 15 | Laurel | 29,798 | $100,504 | $476,648 |
| 16 | Riverdale Park | 7,270 | $120,043 | $486,910 |
| 17 | Aberdeen | 17,298 | $74,826 | $343,948 |
| 18 | New Carrollton | 13,564 | $81,509 | $399,605 |
| 19 | Mount Rainier | 8,245 | $68,505 | $448,597 |
| 20 | Hyattsville | 20,966 | $91,941 | $403,229 |
| 21 | College Park | 34,540 | $69,721 | $437,694 |
| 22 | Greenbelt | 24,678 | $85,997 | $285,336 |
| 23 | Bladensburg | 9,583 | $63,179 | $317,188 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS via Saturday Night Science. 23 Maryland suburbs within 30 miles of a city over 200,000.
Summary
Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Maryland
If you’re measuring the locations in Maryland where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best suburbs in Maryland are Mount Airy, Manchester, Rockville, Bowie, Hampstead, Poolesville, Gaithersburg, La Plata, Annapolis, and Chesapeake Beach.
