Best PlacesCalvert County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Calvert County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Calvert County ranks 226th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Calvert County
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.
The best areas in Calvert County
The parts of Calvert County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Huntingtown, Owings & Dunkirk
More households have young kids, prices have run up less, and local pay stretches further.
Chesapeake Beach & North Beach
Biking is better, though tree cover is thinner.
St. Leonard & Port Republic
More homes sit empty.
Prince Frederick
It is quieter, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Chesapeake Ranch Estates & Lusby
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Scores across Calvert County run from about the 31st to the 94th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Calvert County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Calvert County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$137,459 median, better than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
Where Calvert County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute39.3 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,253 a month, better than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Calvert County
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Calvert County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $137,459, 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 Calvert County's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Calvert County
Calvert County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Calvert County.
Who works in Calvert County, and how
Work in Calvert County centers on public administration and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Calvert County
Calvert County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of counties. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Calvert County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Calvert County growing, and who is moving in?
Calvert County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Baltimore, MD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Calvert County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Calvert County, month by month
Calvert County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Calvert County
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 34 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Calvert County
Schools across Calvert County average a B−, better than 67% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Harmony ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
- Huntingtown ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
- Beach ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northern MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Windy Hill MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Plum Point MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Huntingtown High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Northern HighA− · 65% proficient
- Patuxent HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Calvert County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Calvert County 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 Calvert County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Calvert County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Calvert County
Is Calvert County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Calvert County ranks 226th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Calvert County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $468,878. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $137,459 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is Calvert County safe?
Yes, Calvert County is safer than 93% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Calvert County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 30. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Calvert County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Huntingtown, Owings & Dunkirk, Chesapeake Beach & North Beach, and St. Leonard & Port Republic. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Calvert County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Calvert County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Calvert County 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.
Calvert County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Calvert County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Calvert County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Calvert County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Calvert County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Calvert County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.