Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brunswick is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 8th of 259 in Maryland. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country, its schools rank ahead of 76% of Maryland towns, and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B+, is in cost of living. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. Brunswick’s average trip to work is 39 minutes, against 32 minutes in Maryland’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 25 of Maryland’s 328 towns do better. Brunswick is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Brunswick beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,471 in 1900, 7,762 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Brunswick is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brunswick. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
Big draw23 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
30 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a year
2 mi National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a year
10 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year
36 mi LandmarkCIA Memorial WallRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0 · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CIA Memorial Wall: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brunswick, 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 Brunswick.
Brunswick pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and sends many workers across the state line to Washington.
6.8 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Brunswick’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park | 1.9 mi | 135 |
| 2. Shenandoah Square Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
| 3. Galyn Manor Green Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $407K.
Its public schools are run by the Frederick County Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Brunswick High, with 910 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 804 | B |
| Brunswick HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 910 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 98% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brunswick.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,015 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brunswick’s, it is healthier than 53%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Brunswick. Brunswick beats the Maryland average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 16% of adults binge drink in Brunswick.
| Brunswick | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Brunswick | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 13.5% |
| More binge drinkers | 16.4% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
21% of working residents cross a state line to work, Washington among the top destinations. Brunswick has 1,000 jobs for its 3,793 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Brunswick for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Brunswick grew to 1,000 in 2023, 224 more than in 2013. The median household income in Brunswick is $118,000.
| Brunswick | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $118,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 12.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 82% of Maryland’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Brunswick has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 24° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 13% of residents (17% statewide). Brunswick has grown 21% since 2020, to 9,380 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of Brunswick residents are under 18.
| Brunswick | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.2 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 42% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.6, men 37.9.
| Brunswick | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.4% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.3% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.6% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Homes are within reach (about $407K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 25 miles.
The typical Brunswick home is worth about $407,000, down 1.4% in a year, close to the Maryland typical home.
| Brunswick | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,217 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Brunswick
About 4 of every 100 Brunswick residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
5,870 counted in 2010 and 7,762 in 2020; an estimated 9,380 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 20.6% since 2020, after 32.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
City in Maryland, United States
Brunswick is a city in southwestern Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River; Loudoun County, Virginia occupies the opposite shore. The population of Brunswick was 8,211 at the 2022 Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Brunswick.
Rosemont isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Brunswick with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Brunswick grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #8 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools.
Not for the area. That is 3.2 years of the area's median household income ($126,684 across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Galen R. Clagett and Nield Gordon.
