Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 10,203 people was settled in 1871.
Burtonsville’s strongest subject is hazard risk (A+). What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $466K, 3.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. The overall grade lands at A, better than 93% of U.S. towns. It ranks 38th of 259 in Maryland. 30% of the land in the town 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. This Maryland town is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
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.
For Burtonsville, the density of trails is 1.8 miles per square mile. Trails run 15 miles in 9 parks and preserves.
| 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
Public schools: the Montgomery County Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Enrollment at Burtonsville’s public school: 601 students.
| 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
Flood insurance has paid one claim in Burtonsville since 2014. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 97% of U.S. communities. Also worth knowing: households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2003.
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.
Among adults in Burtonsville, 16% say their health is fair or poor. Two figures for adults in the town: 28% have obesity, 13% report frequent mental distress.
| 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
In Burtonsville, the typical journey to work is 33 minutes. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 3% of working residents work locally. Just over a fifth of Burtonsville workers do their job from home. For half of commuters, work is under 13 miles away.
| 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 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 87° and January nights of 25°, with about 16 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes sold in Burtonsville spent a median 37 days on the market. The town’s going rate for rent comes in at $2,358 a month. Home values are down 1.2% over the year to September 2026.
| 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
The share of adults 25 and older in Burtonsville who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 48%. Every broad age group is within 4 points of the Maryland average. Its midpoint age stands at 38 years.
| 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.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
