Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town settled in 1824, now home to 7,051 people.
Darnestown does the important things well, at a cost. Its strongest subject is health (A+). Incomes are another plus (A+): the median household earns $232K. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 7.9 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. The overall grade lands at A−, 74th of 259 in Maryland. On that grade it does better than 84% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Seneca Creek State Park, 1,813 acres with 17.5 miles of trail. 72% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both the Maryland town median (42%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · OpenStreetMap.
Where Darnestown beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Darnestown | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 9.9% |
12.4% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Darnestown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,658 in 1880, 6,723 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1841 and 6 maps from 1908 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Darnestown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw20 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw21 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 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
Darnestown 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 Darnestown.
Darnestown sends many workers across the state line and has less tooth loss than most of Maryland, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maryland.
At 7.9 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $1.01M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; North Potomac is next at $876K.
For households in Darnestown, the share who are owner-occupiers is 95%. A typical home here is worth about $1,007,000, up 1.7% in a year, more than twice the Maryland typical home. A home in Darnestown typically sold within 31 days of listing.
| Darnestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 95% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Public schools: the Montgomery County Public Schools. Below: Three of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. 3 public schools serve Darnestown, with 1,337 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurgood Marshall ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 553 | B+ |
| Butler Montessori PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–9 | Grades PK–9 | 208 | – |
| Darnestown ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 356 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Trails total 38 miles in 11 parks and preserves. The trail density in Darnestown is 2.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seneca Creek State Park | 17.5 mi | 1,813 |
| 2. Blockhouse Point Conservation Park | 8 mi | 553 |
| 3. Dierrsen Wildlife Management Area | 0.4 mi | 54 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Maryland is tooth loss: 3.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide. Against the 566 U.S. towns with household incomes like Darnestown’s, it is healthier than 78%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Darnestown: just over one in ten adults report frequent mental distress. Only 7 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Darnestown.
| Darnestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 36% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Darnestown | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.2% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Paid flood insurance claims in Darnestown since 2011: 4. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 65% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 10% to hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
20% of working residents cross a state line to work. 34% of workers work from home, against 19.3% across Maryland.
Darnestown had 1,059 jobs in 2023, up 110 from 2013. Just 3% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. In Darnestown, the average trip to work is 37 minutes. Among 261 Maryland towns, just 4 have a higher median household income than Darnestown.
| Darnestown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $232,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 1.2% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 3.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 87° and January nights of 25°, with about 21 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6 within 15 miles of the center of Darnestown
About 7 of every 100 Darnestown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
Where Darnestown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in the United States
Darnestown is a United States census-designated place (CDP) and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CDP is 17.70 square miles (45.8 km2) with the Potomac River as its southern border and the Muddy Branch as much of its eastern border. Seneca Creek borders portions of its north and west sides. The Travilah, North Potomac, and Germantown census-designated places are adjacent to it, as is the city of Gaithersburg. Land area for the CDP is 16.39 square miles (42.4 km2). As of the 2020 census, the Darnestown CDP had a population of 6,723, while the village of Darnestown is considerably smaller in size and population. Downtown Washington, D.C. is about 22 miles (35 km) to t…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Darnestown.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darnestown | #74 | A− | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Travilah | #80 | A− | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Germantown | #19 | A+ | C+ | — | B+ | A |
| North Potomac | #48 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Gaithersburg | #91 | A− | C− | C+ | B+ | A |
Darnestown, Travilah, Germantown and North Potomac report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Darnestown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Darnestown grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #74 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
