Best PlacesBallenger Creek, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ballenger Creek, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ballenger Creek ranks 977th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Ballenger Creek
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Ballenger Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ballenger Creek ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 89% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of cities
- BikingBetter than 78% of cities
Where Ballenger Creek ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of cities
- Short commute32.4 minutes each way, better than only 13% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Ballenger Creek
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ballenger Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,701, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Ballenger Creek's effective rate of 0.88%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ballenger Creek
Ballenger Creek runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ballenger Creek.
Who works in Ballenger Creek, and how
Work in Ballenger Creek centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Ballenger Creek
Ballenger Creek has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 97% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Ballenger Creek and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Ballenger Creek, month by month
Ballenger Creek sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Ballenger Creek
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 30 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ballenger Creek
Schools across Ballenger Creek average a C+, better than 39% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Oakdale ElementaryB · 49% proficient
- Carroll Creek Montessori Public CharterC · 33% proficient
- Orchard Grove ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oakdale MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Ballenger Creek MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Gov. Thomas Johnson MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Oakdale HighA · 79% proficient
- Tuscarora HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Gov. Thomas Johnson HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ballenger Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ballenger Creek measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Ballenger Creek against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Ballenger Creek suits
Families
Schools land around the 39th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Common questions about living in Ballenger Creek
Is Ballenger Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ballenger Creek ranks 977th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, cell coverage, and a strong job market, and lowest on taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ballenger Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $385,500. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $103,701 median income, cost of living beats 52% of cities.
Is Ballenger Creek safe?
Yes, Ballenger Creek is safer than 56% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Ballenger Creek?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of cities.
Is Ballenger Creek good for families?
Schools beat 39% of cities, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,304 a month.
Compare Ballenger Creek with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ballenger Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ballenger Creek represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Ballenger Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ballenger Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ballenger Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ballenger Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ballenger Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ballenger Creek detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.