Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The best of Charlestown’s subject grades are an A− for incomes and an A+ for history; the weakest is a C− for cost of living. 29% of residents are under 18 in Charlestown, where Maryland’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 22%. Charlestown is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. Only 6 of Maryland’s 329 towns score higher on history. Charlestown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Charlestown beats most towns.
Census counts: 223 in 1870, a low of 177 in 1920, 1,496 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 7 maps from 1898 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Charlestown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charlestown, 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 Charlestown.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Charlestown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Cecil County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlestown ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 305 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Charlestown for work: only 1% work in town. At $122,000, Charlestown’s median household income is against $113,000 in Maryland’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. The average trip to work in Charlestown is 31 minutes.
| Charlestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $122,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Charlestown beats the Maryland average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 31% of Charlestown adults feel lonely.
| Charlestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Charlestown | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.6% | 15.4% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.9% | 8.7% |
| More adults with depression | 22.6% | 19.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Charlestown home is worth about $336,000, down 0.9% in a year, 21% below the Maryland typical home. 92% of households own their home in Charlestown.
| Charlestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,735 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Charlestown has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 29% of residents (22% statewide). Charlestown has grown 2.8% since 2020, to 1,553 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| Charlestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.5 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 42% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.4 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 72% are men (MD 48%).
| Charlestown | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 20.4% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.2% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.6% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.3% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.6% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.7% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.8% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.4% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
1.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Charlestown’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Charlestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charlestown Athletic Complex | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charlestown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaM&T Bank Stadium
40 mi Stadium & arenaOriole Park at Camden Yards
38 mi MuseumNS Savannah
38 mi National MonumentFort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine283K visitors a year
26 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
26 mi MuseumWinterthur Museum, Garden and LibraryM&T Bank Stadium: United States Department of Defense Cherie Cullen, Public domain · Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0 · NS Savannah: Elton Lord/Atomic Energy Commission, Public domain · Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine: ScottyBoy900Q at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library: Photo by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5
2 within 15 miles of the center of Charlestown
About 4 of every 100 Charlestown residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
1,183 counted in 2010 and 1,496 in 2020; an estimated 1,553 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
2 places in Charlestown on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maryland, United States
Charlestown is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Charlestown had a population of 1,496.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Yes. That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($91,289 across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 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 C−.
2 notable people were born here, including Philip Barton Key and Albert Constable.
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