Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Crisfield grades D overall, ranked 253rd of 259 in Maryland, mostly because of incomes and schools. The median household income is $50K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. Its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. It also has a long history, with 11 places on the National Register. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Crisfield, above both Maryland’s towns (7%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). No town in Maryland scores lower than Crisfield on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include Make Peace and Crisfield Armory.
Where Crisfield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Make Peace
Its founding year, 1663, comes before those of 98% of the Maryland towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 986 in 1880, a peak of 4,116 in 1920, 2,475 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Crisfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Crisfield, 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 Crisfield.
Crisfield trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Maryland (mostly coastal flooding) and is a long drive from an emergency room.
Homes are within reach (about $168K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 29 miles. At 2.3 years of the Salisbury metro’s $74K median household income, the typical home (about $168K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Crisfield’s median rent is $766 a month. The typical Crisfield home is worth about $168,000, up 1.3% in a year, 61% below the Maryland typical home. 55% of Crisfield households own their home.
| Crisfield | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $766 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Somerset County Public Schools. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Crisfield Academy and High School, with 366 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter G Woodson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 512 | C |
| Crisfield Academy and High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 366 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Maryland towns; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 363 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 29 properties have flooded more than once.
The FEMA risk score in Crisfield is 99 of 100. Since 1979, 363 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Crisfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The nearest emergency room, Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, is 20.8 miles away in a straight line. Against the 5,845 U.S. towns with household incomes like Crisfield’s, it is less healthy than 52%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Crisfield beats the Maryland average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Crisfield. Only 7 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Crisfield.
| Crisfield | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Crisfield | MD |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.8% | 76.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Crisfield has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 30° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 845 working residents takes 22.4 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
Most working residents leave Crisfield for work: only 19% work in town. Among 261 Maryland towns, just 3 have a lower median household income than Crisfield. The top destinations are Salisbury (15%), Princess Anne (5%) and Baltimore (4%).
| Crisfield | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Crisfield | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.7% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Janes Island State Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Crisfield Municipal Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Crisfield's reported crime rate is below Maryland's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 10 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Crisfield | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.7 per 1,000 residents | 14.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Crisfield; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Crisfield residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Coastal flooding makes up 81% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
17.5% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
7 places in Crisfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Maryland, United States
Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Crisfield has the distinction of being the southernmost incorporated city in Maryland. The site of today's Crisfield was initially a small fishing village called Annemessex Neck. During European colonization, it was renamed Somers Cove, after Benjamin Summers. When the business potential for seafood was discovered, John W. Crisfield decided to bring the Pennsylvania Railroad to Crisfield, and the quiet fishing town grew. Crisfield is now known…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Crisfield grades D overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns and #253 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the 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+.
