Best PlacesCaroline County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Caroline County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Caroline County ranks 2,298th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Caroline 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 Caroline County
The parts of Caroline 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.
Preston
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and health care is easier to reach.
Ridgely
Denton
Fewer homes sit empty, though it is noisier.
Greensboro
Federalsburg
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Scores across Caroline County run from about the 4th to the 57th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Caroline County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Caroline County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of counties
- TransitBetter than 78% of counties
- QuietBetter than 78% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 69% of counties
Where Caroline County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute33.4 minutes each way, better than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Caroline County
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Caroline County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $71,696; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Caroline County's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Caroline County
Caroline County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Caroline County.
Who works in Caroline County, and how
Work in Caroline County centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Caroline County
Caroline County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and more parkland per resident than 87% of counties. The coast is about 33 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Caroline County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Caroline County growing, and who is moving in?
Caroline 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 Caroline County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Caroline County, month by month
Caroline County sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 68° | 58° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 71° | 62° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Caroline County
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around Caroline County
Schools across Caroline County average a C−, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Preston Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Denton Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Ridgely Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lockerman Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Colonel Richardson Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Colonel Richardson High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- North Caroline High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Caroline County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Caroline 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 Caroline County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Caroline County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Caroline County
Is Caroline County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Caroline County ranks 2,298th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and transit, 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 Caroline County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $284,513. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $71,696 median income, cost of living beats 49% of counties.
Is Caroline County safe?
Caroline County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $344 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Caroline County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 31. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Caroline County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Preston, Ridgely, and Denton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Caroline County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Caroline County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Caroline 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.
Caroline County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Caroline County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Caroline County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Caroline County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Caroline County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Caroline 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.