You don’t have to watch The Wire to know that there’s danger lurking in some of the more dangerous cities in Maryland.
How do you navigate these dangerous cities when trying to make an informed decision on what city to call home? You consult the numbers.
And that’s what we did for you.
To find the dangerous places in Maryland, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze 40 cities based on the FBI’s latest crime report. We looked at violent and property crime per capita for every place with over 5,000 residents.
We’re not saying there aren’t little pockets of goodness in these cities, but cities like Baltimore and Laurel catch a break.
980 violent crimes /100k · 8,807 property crimes /100k · #4 most violent in Maryland
Ocean City coming in as the most dangerous place to live in Maryland for 2026 might surprise tourists who come in droves every summer to enjoy the beach and boardwalk.
In fact, Ocean City can safely blame the eight million vacationers who flock to the town annually for the ridiculously high “crime per capita.” Still, Ocean City had the highest property crime rate in Maryland by a substantial margin, with residents facing a 1 in 11 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged.
Violent crime isn’t much better, with 68 cases recorded in 2024. Maybe if Ocean City didn’t have such great things to do, criminals activity would fall off.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1,080 violent crimes /100k · 5,232 property crimes /100k · #2 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Cecil County, MarylandLocated on the northeastern shore of Maryland, Elkton is known as “The Elopement Capital of the East Coast.” It turns out that hasty marriages aren’t the only bad decisions going down in Elkton, though, seeing as the town has the second highest crime rate in the state.
You’ll want to make sure nobody steals your produce after a trip to the farmer’s market, because Elkton experienced 582 larcenies in 2024. Also, lock your car doors here because there was about one car theft per week in Elkton on average.
It’s not just property crime in Elkton, either, considering the town also had the second highest violent crime rate in Maryland.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1,606 violent crimes /100k · 4,157 property crimes /100k · #1 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Baltimore city, MarylandAh, Baltimore, the city you were probably expecting to top this list. Well, in terms of violent crime, you’d be right. After all, you don’t earn a nickname like Bodymore, Murderland for nothing.
Baltimore had 197 murders in 2024, giving the city the second highest murder rate in Maryland. To be fair, though, Baltimore is a big place with plenty of safe neighborhoods.
But even in a place like the Inner Harbor, you’ll want to watch your belongings, seeing as Baltimore had 23,555 property crimes in 2024.
That includes more than ten car thefts per day, on average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
970 violent crimes /100k · 3,517 property crimes /100k · #5 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, MarylandBladensburg is located just south of Hyattsville, and while it’s more violent than its northern neighbor, there’s less crime here overall. Still, Bladensburg had 1 murders recorded in 2024.
That might not sound like a lot, but for a city of 9,382, that’s enough for the tenth highest murder rate statewide. And good enough reason not to linger at Waterfront Park once the sun goes down.
With residents facing a 1 in 103 chance of being the victim of violence, Bladensburg is one of DC’s most violent suburbs.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
985 violent crimes /100k · 2,912 property crimes /100k · #3 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, MarylandRiverdale Park, formerly known and often referred to as Riverdale, Maryland is a semi-urban town in Prince George’s County, Maryland, United States, a suburb in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 6,956 as of 2010.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
540 violent crimes /100k · 7,073 property crimes /100k · #15 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Montgomery County, MarylandYes, Takoma Park is technically in Maryland. But miss a turn and you’ll find yourself in the District of Columbia — the community is built right along the border. This makes Takoma Park a suburb of the nation’s capital. However, that doesn’t make it a quiet alcove for senators to take the mistresses or young staffers to hash out political strategy. Rather, this counts as the number 6 most dangerous city in Maryland.
In a community with just 17,418 residents, Takoma Park suffered 44 robberies, 1,022 larcenies, and 102 car thefts. It also has a major problem with violent crimes, with 94 such incidents in a year.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
649 violent crimes /100k · 4,377 property crimes /100k · #12 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, MarylandGreenbelt is a city in Prince George’s County, Maryland, United States. Contained within today’s City of Greenbelt is the historic planned community now known locally as “Old Greenbelt” and designated as the Greenbelt Historic District. Greenbelt’s population was 23,068 at the 2010 U.S. Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
955 violent crimes /100k · 3,006 property crimes /100k · #6 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Wicomico County, MarylandThe largest city in Maryland’s Eastern Shore region, Salisbury comes in as the state’s eighth most dangerous place to call home.
On average, Salisbury had a violent crime six out of seven days of the week over 2024. The city also had the 18th highest rate of rape cases in the state.
There were also 182 burglaries in Salisbury over the year and 753 larcenies. That’s a lot of homes broken into and pockets picked for a city of just 33,205.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
688 violent crimes /100k · 3,340 property crimes /100k · #11 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, MarylandLocated just six miles east of Washington DC , Hyattsville is the least violent of the DC suburbs and the least violent place on this list overall.
Don’t get us wrong; you still shouldn’t stay out late at one of Hyattsville parks all by yourself, considering the city had the 15th highest murder rate in Maryland.
Not to mention that Hyattsville residents had a 1 in 29 shot of being the victim of a property crime in 2024.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
782 violent crimes /100k · 2,632 property crimes /100k · #8 most violent in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, MarylandMount Rainier, located in Prince George’s County, Maryland, ranks as the tenth most dangerous place to live in the state for 2026. With a population of 8,055, this small city experienced 63 incidents of violent crime, including 4 rapes and 24 robberies. The property crime rate is also concerning, with 212 reported cases, including 10 burglaries.
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.
On the map
Where crime hits hardest in Maryland
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Maryland for 2026?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets on cities in Maryland. First a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in Maryland, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the 2024 data, specifically the 2024 Crime In The United States Report for Maryland.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered Maryland cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 40 cities in Maryland.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 40 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Maryland — Ocean City. Any ties went to the smaller city.
This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our eleventh time ranking the most dangerous places to live in Maryland and is updated for 2026. Property crime in Maryland runs about 17 percent above the national rate — worth a minute to compare home security systems before you sign a lease.
The full plate
Crime By City In Maryland
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Dangerous Index | Population | Total Crimes Per 100K | Violent Crimes Per 100K | Property Crimes Per 100K | Murders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean City | 2.50 | 6,938 | 9,787 | 980 | 8,807 | 0 |
| 2 | Elkton | 2.50 | 16,017 | 6,312 | 1,080 | 5,232 | 2 |
| 3 | Baltimore | 3.50 | 566,632 | 5,763 | 1,606 | 4,157 | 197 |
| 4 | Bladensburg | 6.50 | 9,382 | 4,487 | 970 | 3,517 | 1 |
| 5 | Riverdale Park | 8.00 | 7,109 | 3,896 | 985 | 2,912 | 1 |
| 6 | Takoma Park | 8.50 | 17,418 | 7,613 | 540 | 7,073 | 0 |
| 7 | Greenbelt | 8.50 | 24,193 | 5,026 | 649 | 4,377 | 0 |
| 8 | Salisbury | 9.00 | 33,205 | 3,960 | 955 | 3,006 | 0 |
| 9 | Hyattsville | 10.00 | 20,506 | 4,028 | 688 | 3,340 | 1 |
| 10 | Mount Rainier | 11.50 | 8,055 | 3,414 | 782 | 2,632 | 3 |
| 11 | Cumberland | 11.50 | 18,661 | 4,389 | 461 | 3,928 | 2 |
| 12 | Laurel | 11.50 | 29,209 | 5,255 | 394 | 4,862 | 2 |
| 13 | Cambridge | 12.00 | 13,205 | 3,733 | 545 | 3,188 | 0 |
| 14 | Annapolis | 13.00 | 40,446 | 2,903 | 808 | 2,094 | 3 |
| 15 | Hagerstown | 13.00 | 43,563 | 3,177 | 714 | 2,463 | 4 |
| 16 | Denton | 15.50 | 5,025 | 3,383 | 358 | 3,025 | 0 |
| 17 | Aberdeen | 17.00 | 18,635 | 2,629 | 596 | 2,034 | 4 |
| 18 | District Heights | 17.50 | 5,769 | 2,461 | 780 | 1,681 | 1 |
| 19 | Cheverly | 20.50 | 5,970 | 3,082 | 218 | 2,864 | 0 |
| 20 | Easton | 20.50 | 17,268 | 2,380 | 400 | 1,981 | 0 |
| 21 | Westminster | 22.00 | 20,671 | 2,283 | 242 | 2,042 | 0 |
| 22 | Frederick | 22.00 | 88,428 | 2,080 | 406 | 1,674 | 2 |
| 23 | Bel Air | 23.50 | 10,422 | 2,245 | 240 | 2,005 | 1 |
| 24 | Fruitland | 24.00 | 5,987 | 2,389 | 200 | 2,188 | 1 |
| 25 | Bowie | 24.00 | 56,929 | 2,473 | 193 | 2,280 | 0 |
| 26 | Chestertown | 25.00 | 5,616 | 2,083 | 231 | 1,852 | 0 |
| 27 | New Carrollton | 25.00 | 13,312 | 1,938 | 293 | 1,645 | 0 |
| 28 | Mount Airy | 26.50 | 9,966 | 1,345 | 321 | 1,023 | 0 |
| 29 | La Plata | 26.50 | 11,114 | 1,970 | 216 | 1,755 | 0 |
| 30 | Gaithersburg | 26.50 | 69,590 | 1,565 | 253 | 1,312 | 1 |
| 31 | Glenarden | 31.50 | 6,230 | 1,091 | 209 | 883 | 0 |
| 32 | Rockville | 31.50 | 67,285 | 1,673 | 150 | 1,523 | 0 |
| 33 | Havre de Grace | 33.00 | 15,099 | 1,404 | 139 | 1,265 | 0 |
| 34 | Hampstead | 34.00 | 6,445 | 978 | 155 | 822 | 0 |
| 35 | Berlin | 35.50 | 5,443 | 974 | 73 | 900 | 0 |
| 36 | Manchester | 35.50 | 5,567 | 287 | 180 | 108 | 0 |
| 37 | Thurmont | 36.50 | 6,832 | 659 | 88 | 571 | 0 |
| 38 | Brunswick | 36.50 | 8,488 | 624 | 130 | 495 | 1 |
| 39 | Ocean Pines | 38.50 | 12,233 | 360 | 33 | 327 | 0 |
| 40 | Frostburg | 40.00 | 6,946 | 115 | 14 | 101 | 0 |
Source: FBI UCR 2024. 40 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Locking It All Up In Maryland
So what is the most dangerous city in Maryland? After analyzing 40 cities in Maryland, Ocean City takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Maryland based on the most recently reported FBI data — 2024.
The latest FBI crime data shows that Ocean City ranks as the most dangerous city in Maryland for 2026.
The most dangerous cities in Maryland are Ocean City, Elkton, Baltimore, Bladensburg, Riverdale Park, Takoma Park, Greenbelt, Salisbury, Hyattsville, and Mount Rainier.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Ocean City and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up. Not sold on Maryland? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Dangerous Places To Live In Maryland FAQs
Is Maryland a dangerous state?
No, Maryland is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #18 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Maryland ranks 23rd most dangerous in the United States — 8.13% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Old Line State ranks 36th most dangerous in the United States — 17.63% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Is Baltimore, MD a dangerous city?
Yes, Baltimore is a dangerous city. Baltimore ranks as the #50 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Baltimore might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Cheswolde Area is the safest in Baltimore, while Hopkins-Middle East is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Baltimore ranks ninth highest in America — 180.58% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 92nd highest in the United States — 20.1% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
