Best PlacesWicomico County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wicomico 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.
Wicomico County ranks 1,636th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Its strengths are big-city access and biking. The cost shows up in taxes, the weather, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Wicomico 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 Wicomico County
The parts of Wicomico 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.
Fruitland
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Hebron & Mardela Springs
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Delmar
Prices have run up less and fewer homes sit empty.
Salisbury
Streets are more walkable, though fewer residents vote.
Scores across Wicomico County run from about the 3rd to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Wicomico County's strengths and weaknesses
Wicomico County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access, biking, and walkability carry most of that.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. The weather and state infrastructure also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Wicomico County to another than it does between Wicomico County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Wicomico County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of counties
- BikingBetter than 86% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of counties
- TransitBetter than 84% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 78% of counties
Where Wicomico County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Wicomico County
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wicomico County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,002, 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 Wicomico 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Wicomico County
Wicomico County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Wicomico County.
Who works in Wicomico County, and how
Work in Wicomico County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Wicomico County
Wicomico County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of counties and more parkland per resident than 66% of counties. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wicomico County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Wicomico County growing, and who is moving in?
Wicomico County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Wicomico County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Wicomico County, month by month
Wicomico County sees roughly 60 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 Wicomico County
The nearest airport, Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wicomico County
Schools across Wicomico County average a D+, better than 16% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- North Salisbury ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Northwestern ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Westside IntermediateD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Delmar Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Bennett MiddleD · 23% proficient
- North Dorchester Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Parkside HighB− · 44% proficient
- James M. Bennett HighB− · 44% proficient
- Mardela Middle & HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wicomico County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wicomico 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 Wicomico County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Wicomico County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 70% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Wicomico County
Is Wicomico County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wicomico County ranks 1,636th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, biking, and walkability, and lowest on taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wicomico County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $263,958. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $79,002 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is Wicomico County safe?
Wicomico County is safer than 41% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $374 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Wicomico County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 28. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Wicomico County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fruitland, Hebron & Mardela Springs, and Delmar. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Wicomico County good for families?
Schools beat 16% of counties, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $821 a month.
Is Wicomico County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 70% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 71% of counties. About 9% of workers already work from home.
Compare Wicomico County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wicomico County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wicomico 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.
Wicomico County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wicomico County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wicomico County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wicomico County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wicomico County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wicomico 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.