Best PlacesHagerstown, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Hagerstown metro, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Photo by Vpuliva, via commons
Hagerstown ranks 220th of 387 U.S. metro areas on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on big-city access and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are state infrastructure, long commutes, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in the Hagerstown metro
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 Hagerstown
The towns and districts of the Hagerstown metro, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the metro.
Keedysville
It is quieter, tree cover is thicker, and incomes run higher.
Inwood & Bunker Hill
Crime runs lower, though biking is worse.
Falling Waters, Williamsport & Halfway
Scores close to Inwood & Bunker Hill, except that schools score higher here.
Martinsburg
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer residents vote.
Boonsboro
Prices have run up less, though fewer households have young kids.
Hedgesville & Berkeley Springs
Commutes are longer and streets are more car-dependent.
Downtown Hagerstown
Local pay stretches less far.
Clear Spring
Hancock
Homes cost less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Scores across Hagerstown run from about the 2nd to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Hagerstown's strengths and weaknesses
Hagerstown lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access, low disaster risk, and tree cover carry most of that.
The one real hole is state infrastructure, near the bottom of the country. Long commutes and taxes also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Hagerstown ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of metro areas
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of metro areas
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of metro areas
- Low vacancyBetter than 72% of metro areas
- Crime safetyBetter than 72% of metro areas
Where Hagerstown ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of metro areas
- Short commute30.2 minutes each way, better than only 4% of metro areas
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of metro areas
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of metro areas
- BikingBetter than only 18% of metro areas
What it costs to buy a home in Hagerstown
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hagerstown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,608, 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 Hagerstown's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Hagerstown
Hagerstown'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 Hagerstown.
Who works in Hagerstown, and how
Work in Hagerstown centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hagerstown
Hagerstown has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of metro areas and less parkland per resident than most metro areas. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hagerstown and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hagerstown growing, and who is moving in?
Hagerstown has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hagerstown go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hagerstown, month by month
Hagerstown sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Hagerstown
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hagerstown
Schools across Hagerstown average a C, better than 33% of metro areas.
Top elementary schools
- Fountaindale ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Williamsport ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Emma K. Doub ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Boonsboro MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Clear Spring MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Smithsburg MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington County Job Development CenterA · 75% proficient
- Barbara Ingram School For The ArtsA · 70% proficient
- Boyd J. Michael Iii Technical High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hagerstown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hagerstown 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 Hagerstown against the other 386 metro areas.
Who Hagerstown suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 72%.
Common questions about living in Hagerstown
Is Hagerstown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hagerstown ranks 220th of 387 metro areas. It scores highest on big-city access, low disaster risk, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hagerstown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $283,076. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $82,608 median income, cost of living beats 60% of metro areas.
Is Hagerstown safe?
Yes, Hagerstown is safer than 72% of metro areas. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hagerstown?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of metro areas.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hagerstown?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Keedysville, Inwood & Bunker Hill, and Falling Waters, Williamsport & Halfway. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hagerstown good for families?
Schools beat 33% of metro areas, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $910 a month.
Is Hagerstown good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 60% of metro areas, though advertised internet speeds beat only 58% of metro areas. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hagerstown with other metro areas
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hagerstown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hagerstown 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.
Hagerstown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hagerstown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hagerstown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hagerstown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hagerstown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hagerstown 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.