Best PlacesCharles County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Charles 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.
Charles County ranks 993rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $125,517, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are long commutes, taxes, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Charles 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 Charles County
The parts of Charles 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.
Bryans Road
Tree cover is thicker, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Waldorf
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Hughesville
More households have young kids and fewer homes sit empty.
La Plata
Schools score higher.
Indian Head
Heat risk is higher.
Nanjemoy
Fewer adults hold degrees and prices have run up more.
Scores across Charles County run from about the 11th to the 81st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Charles County's strengths and weaknesses
Charles County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. High incomes is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Big-city access and few empty homes follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. Taxes and state infrastructure also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Charles County ranks high
- Household income$125,517 median, better than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of counties
Where Charles County ranks low
- Short commute41.4 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter 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 Charles County
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Charles County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $125,517, 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 Charles County's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 Charles County
Charles 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 Charles County.
Who works in Charles County, and how
Work in Charles County centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Charles County
Charles County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Charles County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Charles County growing, and who is moving in?
Charles County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Washington, DC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Charles County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Charles County, month by month
Charles County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Charles County
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 19 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 Charles County
Schools across Charles County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Walter J. Mitchell Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Dr. James Craik Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- T. C. Martin Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Piccowaxen Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
- Milton M. Somers Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Theodore G. Davis Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- La Plata High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- North Point High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Westlake High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Charles County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Charles 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 Charles County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Charles County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Charles County
Is Charles County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Charles County ranks 993rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, big-city access, and few empty homes, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Charles County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $433,396. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $125,517 median income, cost of living beats 94% of counties.
Is Charles County safe?
Charles County is safer than 26% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $433 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Charles County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Charles County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bryans Road, Waldorf, and Hughesville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Charles County good for families?
Schools beat 18% of counties, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $1,253 a month.
Is Charles County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare Charles County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Charles County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Charles 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.
Charles County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Charles County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Charles County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Charles County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Charles County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Charles 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.