Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ballenger Creek does especially well on health (A−): residents are healthier than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall, Ballenger Creek earns an A: better than 94% of U.S. towns, and 31st of 259 in Maryland. Homes run about $387K for a typical one, 3.1 times the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Add incomes to its strengths — the median household earns $109K. The town has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Monocacy National Battlefield and Guilford. Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm, at 204 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. One in ten residents are 65 or older locally, against 16% in Maryland’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Ballenger Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Ballenger Creek beats most towns.
Monocacy National Battlefield is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 5,546 in 1990, 24,999 in 2020. The archive holds 5 maps from 1908 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →5 places in Ballenger Creek on the National Register of Historic Places.
18,274 counted in 2010 and 24,999 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Ordered by what stands out in Ballenger Creek.
22,699 jobs are based in Ballenger Creek, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 17,304 in 2013 to 22,699.
The top destinations are Frederick (18%), Rockville (6%) and Gaithersburg (5%). Commuting out is the norm in Ballenger Creek: 11% of working residents work locally. Jobs in Ballenger Creek grew by 5,395 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 22,699. The typical journey to work for Ballenger Creek comes to 33 minutes.
| Ballenger Creek | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Two of its 9 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The public schools here belong to the Frederick County Public Schools. 6 public schools serve Ballenger Creek, with 4,211 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crestwood MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 996 | B− |
| Tuscarora HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,735 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Compared with 97% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Ballenger Creek is lower. Since 2015, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town. Expected losses in Ballenger Creek break down as 63% from inland flooding and 8% from tornadoes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Ballenger Creek, 10% of adults report frequent physical distress. CDC measures, 32 in all: Ballenger Creek beats Maryland on 13 and trails on 2. Two figures for adults locally: 9.5% smoke cigarettes, 32% have high blood pressure.
| Ballenger Creek | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 11% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Ballenger Creek | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer women getting mammograms | 75.9% | 80.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect July afternoons of 87° and January nights of 25°, with about 31 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are one in ten residents (17% statewide). The share of adults 25 and older in Ballenger Creek who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 46%. Also worth knowing: for Ballenger Creek, the median age is 34.3 years.
| Ballenger Creek | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 10% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 34.3 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 42% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.4, men 32.9.
| Ballenger Creek | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.9% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.5% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.1% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.3% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.1% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.3% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Walkers can cover 3.8 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. For Ballenger Creek, the trail density is 0.4 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: 5, covering 357 acres.
| Ballenger Creek | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.8% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Monocacy National Battlefield - Best Farm | 1.3 mi | 204 |
| 2. Ballenger Creek Park | 0.8 mi | 91 |
| 3. Monocacy River Park | — | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes sold in Ballenger Creek spent a median 36 days on the market. The midpoint rent in the town is $1,987 a month. Nearly two thirds of households live in a home they own locally.
| Ballenger Creek | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,987 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ballenger Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw40 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw40 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw39 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw24 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
Big draw40 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Raven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain
Ballenger Creek is unincorporated, so Frederick County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
Where Ballenger Creek’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ballenger Creek
About 7 of every 100 Ballenger Creek residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
Census-designated place in Maryland
Ballenger Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. It is a part of the Frederick, Maryland urban area and is adjacent to Frederick's southern city limits. The CDP had a 2010 census population of 18,274.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Ballenger Creek.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballenger Creek | #31 | A | C+ | — | A− | A− |
| Frederick | #114 | B+ | C+ | C− | A− | A− |
Ballenger Creek reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ballenger Creek with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Ballenger Creek grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #31 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A− for health and A− for schools.
The typical home is worth about $387,000, 9% below the Maryland typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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