Best PlacesSt. Mary's County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Mary's County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
St. Mary's County ranks 408th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $126,710, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are taxes, state infrastructure, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in St. Mary's 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 St. Mary's County
The parts of St. Mary's 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.
California & Leonardtown
More adults hold degrees, more households have young kids, and fewer homes sit empty.
Hollywood
Incomes run higher and tree cover is thicker.
Lexington Park
Commutes are shorter, though fewer residents vote.
Mechanicsville
Prices have run up less, though biking is worse.
Great Mills
Local pay stretches less far and crime runs higher.
St. Mary's County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 12% of the country and others in the top 7%. Pick the area first, then the home.
St. Mary's County's strengths and weaknesses
St. Mary's County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. High incomes and big-city access follow.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where St. Mary's County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$126,710 median, better than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 87% of counties
Where St. Mary's County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 14% of counties
- Short commute29.9 minutes each way, better than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Mary's County
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Mary's County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $126,710, 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 St. Mary's County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 St. Mary's County
St. Mary's County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for St. Mary's County.
Who works in St. Mary's County, and how
Work in St. Mary's County centers on public administration and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in St. Mary's County
The coast is about 15 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across St. Mary's County, which the map shows.
Is St. Mary's County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Mary's County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Mary's County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Mary's County, month by month
St. Mary's County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 70° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of St. Mary's County
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 45 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 St. Mary's County
Schools across St. Mary's County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Chesapeake Charter SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Lexington Park ElementaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Captain Walter Francis Duke ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Leonardtown MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Esperanza MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Spring Ridge MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Leonardtown HighA− · 65% proficient
- Chopticon HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Great Mills HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Mary's County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Mary's 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 St. Mary's County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Mary's County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in St. Mary's County
Is St. Mary's County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Mary's County ranks 408th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and big-city access, 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 St. Mary's County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,343. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $126,710 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is St. Mary's County safe?
Yes, St. Mary's County is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $297 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Mary's County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 30. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Mary's County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are California & Leonardtown, Hollywood, and Lexington Park. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is St. Mary's County good for families?
Schools beat 55% of counties, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $973 a month.
Is St. Mary's County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 44% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare St. Mary's County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Mary's County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Mary's 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.
St. Mary's County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Mary's County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Mary's County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Mary's County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Mary's County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Mary's 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.