Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 40,580, settled in 1922.
Essex's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C, 196th of 259 graded towns in Maryland. It is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 76% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. 20% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Essex, where Maryland’s towns sit at 42% and U.S. towns at 29%. Pottery Farm Park, at 130 acres with 2.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Essex beats most towns.
Where Essex’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Essex is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 35,205 in 1960, 40,505 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 8 maps from 1893 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Essex. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaM&T Bank Stadium
10 mi Stadium & arenaOriole Park at Camden Yards
7 mi MuseumNS Savannah
8 mi National MonumentFort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine283K visitors a year
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest Stadium
9 mi MuseumWalters Art MuseumM&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 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0 · Walters Art Museum: Dylan k, CC BY-SA 3.0
Essex is unincorporated, so Baltimore 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 Essex.
Essex has homes that are cheap against local pay and sends most of its workers to Baltimore and beyond.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 60 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Essex.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Baltimore County Public Schools. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stemmers Run MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 831 | C+ |
| Kenwood HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,900 | B |
| Eastern Technical High SchoolTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,330 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Essex has 4,969 jobs for its 17,263 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Essex for work: only 4% work in town. Essex’s median household income is $67,000. Jobs based in Essex fell to 4,969 in 2023, 735 fewer than in 2013.
| Essex | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.5% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 2.9 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $289K) costs less against local pay than in 84% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
The typical Essex home is worth about $289,000, about the same as a year ago, 32% below the Maryland typical home. 61% of Essex households own their home.
| Essex | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,319 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Essex | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pottery Farm Park | 2.2 mi | 130 |
| 2. Renaissance Park | 1.1 mi | 34 |
| 3. Cox's Point Park | 0.5 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Essex beats the Maryland average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in Essex.
| Essex | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 23% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Essex | MD |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.8% | 15.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14% | 9.9% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Essex has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Essex is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
15 within 15 miles of the center of Essex
About 6 of every 100 Essex residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
4 notable people were born in Essex.
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Essex is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Essex history dates back to 1909. The population was 40,505 in the 2020 census, up from 39,262 in the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Essex.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | #196 | C | B− | — | C− | C |
| Middle River | #216 | C | C | — | C− | C |
| Rosedale | #149 | B | B | — | C− | C+ |
| Dundalk | #221 | C | B− | — | C− | C− |
| Bowleys Quarters | #218 | C | C− | — | C− | B |
Essex, Middle River, Rosedale, Dundalk and Bowleys Quarters report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Essex with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Essex grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #196 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 2.9 years of the area's median household income ($99,470 across the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, 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 B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Dennis F. Rasmussen and Ric Metzgar.
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