Photo: Benson Lossing · Public domainBladensburg has more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns
The crimes the grade counts fell 21% per resident from 2023 to 2025. On top of that, the yearly rates were 7.2 violent crimes and 36.1 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 8.4 and 29.3 in the rest of Maryland. Its Safety Grade is D, on crimes Bladensburg’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #45 of 52 graded towns in Maryland.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MD” is every other Maryland city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Bladensburg
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 Maryland towns on Bladensburg’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Cheverly (C−). East Riverdale is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Edmonston reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Cottage City reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024. Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Bladensburg’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Bladensburg property | Rest of Maryland property | Bladensburg violent | Rest of Maryland violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 40.9 | 30.6 | 6.8 | 9.0 |
| 2024 | 35.2 | 30.2 | 9.7 | 8.9 |
| 2025 | 32.5 | 27.0 | 5.0 | 7.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Maryland.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Bladensburg | Rest of Maryland | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 9.7 | 8.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.0 | 7.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Bladensburg’s police reported 203 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 7.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.4 in the rest of Maryland and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Bladensburg per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
361 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
48 violent and 313 property, as reported to the FBI by Bladensburg’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Bladensburg’s roads in 2019–2023
Bladensburg had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for Maryland towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Bladensburg’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Bladensburg’s own rate (8.3) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Bladensburg and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bladensburg | D | 7.2 | 36.1 |
| East Riverdale | — | — | — |
| Edmonston | — | — | — |
| Cottage City | — | — | — |
| Cheverly | C− | 2.8 | 26.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. East Riverdale is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Edmonston reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Cottage City reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024.
Maryland towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bladensburg | D | 7.2 | 36.1 |
| Taneytown | A− | 1.2 | 4.7 |
| Brunswick | B+ | 1.7 | 5.3 |
| Mount Airy | C+ | 3.3 | 10.3 |
| Bel Air | C | 1.9 | 21.6 |
| Mount Rainier | D | 5.8 | 28.1 |
The five graded Maryland towns closest to Bladensburg’s population (9,671), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Bladensburg. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Bladensburg’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (9,633 in 2025); our figure for Bladensburg is 9,671 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Bladensburg
Is Bladensburg, MD safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Bladensburg reports more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #45 of 52 in Maryland. Its police reported 7.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.4 in the rest of Maryland and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Bladensburg?
7.2 violent and 36.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Maryland reports 8.4 and 29.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Bladensburg safer than Cheverly?
Cheverly reports less crime per resident than Bladensburg: Cheverly grades C− for safety and Bladensburg D. Cheverly’s police reported 2.8 violent and 26.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Bladensburg?
Bladensburg’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Bladensburg”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Bladensburg.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.