Best PlacesHillandale, Silver Spring, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hillandale, Silver Spring, 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.
Hillandale, Silver Spring ranks 4,079th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hillandale, Silver Spring
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.
Hillandale, Silver Spring's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hillandale, Silver Spring ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Household income$125,464 median, better than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Hillandale, Silver Spring ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Short commute36.2 minutes each way, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hillandale, Silver Spring
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hillandale, Silver Spring home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,464, 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 Hillandale, Silver Spring's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 Hillandale, Silver Spring
Hillandale, Silver Spring runs younger than the country, 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 Hillandale, Silver Spring.
Who works in Hillandale, Silver Spring, and how
Work in Hillandale, Silver Spring centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Hillandale, Silver Spring
Hillandale, Silver Spring has more parkland per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 33 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Hillandale, Silver Spring and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hillandale, Silver Spring, month by month
Hillandale, Silver Spring sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Hillandale, Silver Spring
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 12 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 Hillandale, Silver Spring
Schools across Hillandale, Silver Spring average a D+, better than 20% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Adelphi ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
- Cherokee Lane ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Francis Scott Key MiddleD · 22% proficient
- Buck Lodge MiddleF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Springbrook HighB+ · 51% proficient
- High Point HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hillandale, Silver Spring school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hillandale, Silver Spring 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 Hillandale, Silver Spring against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Hillandale, Silver Spring
Is Hillandale, Silver Spring a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hillandale, Silver Spring ranks 4,079th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, few empty homes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on state infrastructure and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hillandale, Silver Spring expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $532,916. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $125,464 median income, cost of living beats 79% of neighborhoods.
Is Hillandale, Silver Spring safe?
Hillandale, Silver Spring is safer than 37% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $552 per resident a year.
Compare Hillandale, Silver Spring with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hillandale, Silver Spring. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hillandale, Silver Spring 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.
Hillandale, Silver Spring detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hillandale, Silver Spring: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hillandale, Silver Spring: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hillandale, Silver Spring: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hillandale, Silver Spring: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hillandale, Silver Spring 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.