Best PlacesSomerset County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Somerset County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Somerset County ranks 2,914th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on big-city access.
The best neighborhoods in Somerset 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 Somerset County
The parts of Somerset 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.
Princess Anne
More households have young kids, disaster risk is lower, and more adults hold degrees.
Crisfield
Biking is better, though more homes sit empty.
Westover
Fewer residents vote and local pay stretches less far.
Scores across Somerset County run from about the 3rd to the 44th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Somerset County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Somerset County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of counties
- TransitBetter than 84% of counties
- BikingBetter than 72% of counties
- QuietBetter than 69% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 69% of counties
Where Somerset County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Somerset County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Somerset County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,927, 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 Somerset County's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Somerset County
Somerset County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Somerset County.
Who works in Somerset County, and how
Work in Somerset County centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Somerset County
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Somerset County, which the map shows.
Is Somerset County growing, and who is moving in?
Somerset County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Baltimore, MD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Somerset County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Somerset County, month by month
Somerset County sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 49, 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 | 49° | 38° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Somerset County
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Somerset County
Schools across Somerset County average a D+, better than 11% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Kegotank ElementaryC+ · 36% proficient
- Fruitland IntermediateD+ · 21% proficient
- Carter G Woodson ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northumberland MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Arcadia MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Pocomoke MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Northumberland HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Arcadia HighB+ · 58% proficient
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Somerset County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Somerset 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 Somerset County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Somerset County suits
Common questions about living in Somerset County
Is Somerset County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Somerset County ranks 2,914th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and biking, and lowest on taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Somerset County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,911. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $62,927 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Somerset County safe?
Somerset County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $576 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Somerset County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 28. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Somerset County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Princess Anne, Crisfield, and Westover. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Somerset County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Somerset County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Somerset 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.
Somerset County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Somerset County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Somerset County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Somerset County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Somerset County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Somerset 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.