Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,203, settled in 1871.
Few places in the country grade higher. Burtonsville earns an A, ranked 38th of 259 in Maryland. Residents are healthier than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, the median household earns $134K, and it has 15 miles of trail and 30% conserved land. Its lowest mark, a C, is in cost of living. 30% of the land in Burtonsville is conserved, above both the Maryland town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, 877 acres with 7.7 miles of trail.
Where Burtonsville beats most towns.
29.5% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Burtonsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,305 in 2000, 9,498 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 8 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Burtonsville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw17 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw19 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw18 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw17 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M 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 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Burtonsville is unincorporated, so Montgomery 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Burtonsville.
Burtonsville is one of Maryland’s best towns for the outdoors and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #3 of 261 in Maryland.
15 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Burtonsville’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both Maryland’s towns (0.6) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. T. Howard Duckett Watershed | 7.7 mi | 877 |
| 2. Fairland Recreational Park | 4.7 mi | 210 |
| 3. Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park | 1.7 mi | 104 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Montgomery County Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burtonsville ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 601 | B |
| Spencerville Adventist Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 408 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 97% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Burtonsville since 2014.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 4,120 U.S. towns with household incomes like Burtonsville’s, it is healthier than 67%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
17% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Burtonsville. Burtonsville beats the Maryland average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults have obesity in Burtonsville.
| Burtonsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Burtonsville | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.2% | 5.9% |
| Fewer smokers | 7.9% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Burtonsville for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Burtonsville is 33 minutes. The top destinations are Washington (16%), Rockville (6%) and Columbia (5%).
| Burtonsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $134,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 21% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 3.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Burtonsville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Burtonsville home is worth about $466,000, down 1.2% in a year, 10% above the Maryland typical home. Burtonsville’s median rent is $2,358 a month.
| Burtonsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,358 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Maryland average. 48% of Burtonsville adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Burtonsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 48% | 42% | 29% |
| Median age | 38 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 16% | 18% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.4 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Burtonsville | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.7% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.2% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.4% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.4% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.6% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.6% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
16 within 15 miles of the center of Burtonsville
About 10 of every 100 Burtonsville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
8,323 counted in 2010 and 9,498 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Census-designated place in Maryland
Burtonsville is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is situated in the northeast corner of Montgomery County, right on the border of both Howard and Prince George's counties. It is considered a suburban town in the Washington metropolitan area. It is twenty miles (32 km) southwest of downtown Baltimore, 16 miles (26 km) north of downtown Washington, D.C., and 25 miles (40 km) from Annapolis. Burtonsville recorded a population of 9,498 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Burtonsville.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burtonsville | #38 | A | C | — | B+ | A |
| Fairland | #72 | A− | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Ashton-Sandy Spring | #4 | A+ | C+ | — | B+ | A |
| Cloverly | #73 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Scaggsville | #43 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| West Laurel | #167 | B− | C | — | D | A− |
| Spencerville | — | — | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Konterra | #213 | C | C− | — | D | B+ |
Spencerville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Burtonsville, Fairland, Ashton-Sandy Spring, Cloverly, Scaggsville, West Laurel, Spencerville and Konterra report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Burtonsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Burtonsville grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #38 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and B+ for schools.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($126,684 across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area).
