Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cumberland gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $157K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Cumberland area’s $62K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 241st of 259 in Maryland. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 54 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, and residents are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Cumberland, above both the Maryland town median (7%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Its National Register listings include Washington Street Historic District and Public Safety Building. On hazard risk, just 32 of Maryland’s 329 towns do worse.
Where Cumberland beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Washington Street Historic District
Its 24 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Maryland towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,428 in 1840, a peak of 39,483 in 1940, 19,076 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1795 and 7 maps from 1898 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Cumberland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cumberland. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
24 mi MountainMount Davis
in town National Historical ParkChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park4.6M visitors a year
in town LandmarkFort Cumberland
35 mi LakeDeep Creek Lake
38 mi State parkOhiopyle State ParkFlight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Davis: Wikiuser100, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park: Bonnachoven, CC0 · Fort Cumberland: Unknown, Public domain · Deep Creek Lake: Gohens84, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ohiopyle State Park: Hubert Stoffels from Pittsburgh, USA, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cumberland, 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 Cumberland.
Cumberland draws workers from La Vale and beyond, fares better on crime within Maryland than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
At 2.5 years of the Cumberland area’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $157K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,696, against $4,093 across Maryland, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Cumberland’s median rent is $741 a month. The typical Cumberland home is worth about $157,000, up 3.2% in a year, 63% below the Maryland typical home. 60% of Cumberland households own their home.
| Cumberland | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $741 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Allegany County Public Schools. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 577 | C+ |
| Allegany HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 719 | A |
| Fort Hill HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 655 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
10,442 jobs are based in Cumberland, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.9 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
35% of working residents work locally in Cumberland. Since 2013, Cumberland has lost 1,446 jobs, to 10,442 in 2023. The average trip to work in Cumberland is 19 minutes.
| Cumberland | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 35% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.5% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 58.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 78% of Maryland’s graded towns. Property crime runs at 38.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Maryland rate, most of it theft.
Only 3 of the 55 Maryland towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Cumberland. Cumberland reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less.
| Cumberland | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 38.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 5,069 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cumberland’s, it is less healthy than 67%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Cumberland beats the Maryland average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. Only 1 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Cumberland.
| Cumberland | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 23% | 25% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 20% | 23% |
| What stands out | Cumberland | MD |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.6% | 5.9% |
| More smokers | 19.4% | 10.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7.5 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Constitution Park, at 134 acres.
| Cumberland | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.3% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park | 1.4 mi | 112 |
| 2. Constitution Park | 0.2 mi | 134 |
| 3. Narrows Scenic Park | — | 89 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cumberland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cumberland has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cumberland
About 5 of every 100 Cumberland residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
24 places in Cumberland on the National Register of Historic Places.
46 notable people were born in Cumberland.
City in Maryland, United States
Cumberland is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 19,075 at the 2020 census. Located on the Potomac River, Cumberland is a regional business and commercial center for Western Maryland and the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. It is the primary city of the Cumberland micropolitan area, which had 95,044 residents in 2020. Historically, Cumberland was known as the "Queen City" as it was once the second largest in the state. Because of its strategic location on what became known as the Cumberland Road through the Appalachians, after the American Revolution it served as a historical outfitting and staging point for westward emig…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Cumberland.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland | #241 | C− | B+ | D | C+ | D |
| Bowmans Addition | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | D |
| Bowling Green | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bowmans Addition has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bowmans Addition reports no FBI crime data of its own. Bowling Green isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cumberland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cumberland grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #241 of 259 in Maryland. It grades D for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety 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+.
46 notable people were born here, including Eddie Deezen and Drew Hankinson.
