Best PlacesGaithersburg, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gaithersburg, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Gaithersburg ranks 140th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $128,738, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are taxes, state infrastructure, and the weather.
The best neighborhoods in Gaithersburg
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.
Gaithersburg's strengths and weaknesses
Gaithersburg lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. High incomes, a stable housing market, and few empty homes carry most of that.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and the weather also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Gaithersburg to another than it does between Gaithersburg and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Gaithersburg ranks high
- Household income$128,738 median, better than 91% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of cities
Where Gaithersburg ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 2% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,745 a month, better than only 7% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 8% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Gaithersburg
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gaithersburg home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $128,738, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Gaithersburg's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg'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 Gaithersburg.
Who works in Gaithersburg, and how
Work in Gaithersburg centers on professional & technical 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 66%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of cities and more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. The coast is about 43 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Gaithersburg and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Gaithersburg, month by month
Gaithersburg sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Gaithersburg
Washington Dulles International sits about 20 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 13.9 million passengers in 2025, with 200 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Gaithersburg
Schools across Gaithersburg average a C, better than 33% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Travilah ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Fallsmead ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Diamond ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert Frost Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Lakelands Park MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- Rosa M. Parks MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Thomas S. Wootton HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Northwest HighA− · 67% proficient
- Damascus HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gaithersburg school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gaithersburg 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 Gaithersburg against the other 444 cities.
Who Gaithersburg suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of cities and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Gaithersburg
Is Gaithersburg a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gaithersburg ranks 140th of 445 cities. It scores highest on high incomes, a stable housing market, and few empty homes, 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 Gaithersburg expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $548,755. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $128,738 median income, cost of living beats 83% of cities.
Is Gaithersburg safe?
Gaithersburg is safer than 26% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $489 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gaithersburg?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 25. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of cities.
Is Gaithersburg good for families?
Schools beat 33% of cities, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $1,745 a month.
Is Gaithersburg good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 14% of cities. About 25% of workers already work from home.
Compare Gaithersburg with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gaithersburg. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gaithersburg 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.
Gaithersburg detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gaithersburg: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gaithersburg: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gaithersburg: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gaithersburg: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gaithersburg 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.