Best PlacesGermantown, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Germantown, 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.
Germantown ranks 129th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $128,440, 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 cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in Germantown
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.
Germantown's strengths and weaknesses
Germantown lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. A stable housing market is the standout, in the top 1% of cities. Few empty homes and tree cover follow.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and cell coverage also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Germantown to another than it does between Germantown and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Germantown ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of cities
- Household income$128,440 median, better than 90% of cities
Where Germantown ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% 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
What it costs to buy a home in Germantown
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Germantown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $128,440, 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 Germantown'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 Germantown
Germantown'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 Germantown.
Who works in Germantown, and how
Work in Germantown 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 70%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Germantown
Germantown has more parkland per resident than 76% of cities. The coast is about 45 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Germantown and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Germantown, month by month
Germantown 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 Germantown
Washington Dulles International sits about 19 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 Germantown
Schools across Germantown average a C+, better than 47% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Fallsmead ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Stone Mill ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Spark M. Matsunaga ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert Frost Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Cabin John MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- John H. Poole MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Thomas S. Wootton HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Poolesville HighA · 79% proficient
- Northwest HighA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Germantown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Germantown 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 Germantown against the other 444 cities.
Who Germantown suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of cities and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Germantown
Is Germantown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Germantown ranks 129th of 445 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and tree cover, 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 Germantown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $470,734. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $128,440 median income, cost of living beats 83% of cities.
Is Germantown safe?
Germantown is safer than 17% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $538 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Germantown?
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 Germantown good for families?
Schools beat 47% of cities, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,745 a month.
Is Germantown good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 15% of cities. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare Germantown with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Germantown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Germantown 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.
Germantown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Germantown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Germantown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Germantown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Germantown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Germantown 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.