Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bladensburg earns a D, 252nd of 259 graded towns in Maryland, mostly because of safety and schools. Its crime rate is higher than 95% of U.S. towns, with 48 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Bladensburg’s property crime rate is 32.5 per 1,000 residents, against 13.8 in Maryland’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Only 26 of Maryland’s 329 towns score lower on health. Bladensburg has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bostwick and George Washington House (Additional Documentation).
Where Bladensburg beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 410 in 1870, 9,657 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1763 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Bladensburg is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 5%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bladensburg. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw9 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw8 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest StadiumWhite 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 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bladensburg, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bladensburg.
Bladensburg sends many workers across the state line and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Maryland rate.
Reported crimes fell from 446 to 361 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bladensburg’s violent crime rate is 5 per 1,000 residents. Bladensburg reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Towns ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 747 | D |
| Bladensburg HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,114 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
1.0 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Anacostia River Stream Valley Park, at 27 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anacostia River Stream Valley Park | 0.3 mi | 27 |
| 2. Old Port of Bladensburg Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Bladensburg Waterfront Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bladensburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
34% of adults worry about having enough food in Bladensburg. Bladensburg beats the Maryland average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 23. 46% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Bladensburg.
| Bladensburg | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 8% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bladensburg | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.2% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 16.2% | 19.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.7% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.5 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $317K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
21% of Bladensburg households own their home. The typical Bladensburg home is worth about $317,000, down 1.2% in a year, 25% below the Maryland typical home. The median rent in Bladensburg is $1,656 a month.
| Bladensburg | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 21% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,656 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Bladensburg has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
41% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave Bladensburg for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Bladensburg has added 357 jobs, to 2,605 in 2023. The top destinations are Washington (30%), Baltimore (3%) and Silver Spring (2%).
| Bladensburg | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
32 within 15 miles of the center of Bladensburg
About 9 of every 100 Bladensburg residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
6 places in Bladensburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Bladensburg.
Town in Maryland, United States
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bladensburg.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bladensburg | #252 | D | C+ | D | D | C− |
| East Riverdale | #240 | C− | C+ | — | D | C− |
| Edmonston | — | — | C | — | D | B+ |
| Cottage City | — | — | B− | — | D | C |
| Cheverly | #228 | C− | C | C− | D | B |
Edmonston and Cottage City have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. East Riverdale, Edmonston and Cottage City report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bladensburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bladensburg grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #252 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C− for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including William Wirt and John T. Flynn.
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