Best PlacesWaldorf, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Waldorf, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Waldorf ranks 1,373rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Long commutes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a stable housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Waldorf
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.
Waldorf's strengths and weaknesses
Where Waldorf ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of cities
- Household income$124,001 median, better than 78% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 77% of cities
Where Waldorf ranks low
- Short commute40.9 minutes each way, better than only 1% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of cities
- School gradeD+, better than only 11% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Waldorf
A household needs to earn about $114,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Waldorf home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $124,001, 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 Waldorf's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 Waldorf
Waldorf runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Waldorf.
Who works in Waldorf, and how
Work in Waldorf centers on public administration 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 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Waldorf
Waldorf has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of cities and more parkland per resident than 76% of cities. The coast is about 23 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Waldorf and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Waldorf, month by month
Waldorf sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Waldorf
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 17 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 Waldorf
Schools across Waldorf average a D+, better than 11% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Dr. James Craik Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Accokeek AcademyC− · 29% proficient
- T. C. Martin Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Milton M. Somers Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Theodore G. Davis Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Matthew Henson Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- La Plata High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- North Point High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Westlake High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Waldorf school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Waldorf 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 Waldorf against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Waldorf suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of cities and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Waldorf
Is Waldorf a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Waldorf ranks 1,373rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Waldorf expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $423,736. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $124,001 median income, cost of living beats 72% of cities.
Is Waldorf safe?
Waldorf is safer than 20% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $447 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Waldorf?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of cities.
Is Waldorf good for families?
Schools beat 11% of cities, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $1,253 a month.
Compare Waldorf with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Waldorf. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Waldorf 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.
Waldorf detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Waldorf: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Waldorf: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Waldorf: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Waldorf: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Waldorf 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.