Fort MeadeMD
The town has 11,225 residents and lies in Maryland.
Is Fort Meade a good place to live?
One weak subject stands out against an otherwise good record. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A+). The drawback is cost of living (D−): the typical home is worth about , years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a B overall, ranking 135th of 259 in Maryland. Set against the rest, it does better than just over three fifths of U.S. towns. 2.3% of residents are 65 or older in Fort Meade, below both Maryland’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (18%). The town is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $103K.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
What makes Fort Meade stand out
Where Fort Meade beats most towns.
Every workday, about 5,408 people come to Fort Meade for work
Where Fort Meade’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Fort Meade grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Fort Meade is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
White House and 283 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Meade. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw24 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw23 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw21 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest StadiumPhoto credits
White 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 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
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Moving to Fort Meade: who provides what
Fort Meade is unincorporated, so Anne Arundel 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Meade.
Fort Meade draws workers from Baltimore and beyond, has less heart disease than most of Maryland and is mostly renters.
In Fort Meade, the average trip to work runs shorter than in the typical Maryland or U.S. town
5,472 jobs are based in Fort Meade, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.2 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
A tenth of Fort Meade workers work from home. Jobs in Fort Meade grew by 1,025 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 5,472. Most working residents leave Fort Meade for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (12%), Baltimore (9%) and Columbia (5%).
| Fort Meade | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 10% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.1% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fort Meade’s schools rank behind 52% of Maryland districts
Two of the 7 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The 6 public schools in Fort Meade teach 3,237 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacArthur MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 992 | B |
| Meade HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,045 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Natural hazards: very low risk in Fort Meade, mostly inland flooding
On expected storm and flood damage, Fort Meade sits below 99% of U.S. communities. 37% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by heat waves at 14%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fort Meade stands out in Maryland and nationally, with the median age lower than most
Only 0% of households own their home, against 67.6% across Maryland.
Four-year graduates: 50% of adults 25 and older here, 44% across Maryland. 29% of residents are under 18 in Fort Meade. Among 261 Maryland towns, just 2 have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Fort Meade. Adults 18 to 34 are 44% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 24% of residents (40% statewide).
| Fort Meade | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 2.3% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 25.1 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 29% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 50% | 42% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
About 128 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 69% are men (MD 51%). Median age: women 26.9, men 24.2.
| Fort Meade | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 20.4% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 20.5% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 23.6% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.1% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 3.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 2% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0.3% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 7.6% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.7% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.5% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.9% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.3% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Fort Meade is healthier than 85% of U.S. towns
Its widest gap with Maryland is heart disease: 2.1% of its 6,207 adults have heart disease, against 5.8% statewide.
Only one of the 261 Maryland towns we compare has a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Fort Meade. The town beats the Maryland average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. The share of adults in Fort Meade who binge drink: 22%.
| Fort Meade | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 5.4% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Fort Meade | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 2.1% | 5.8% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.1% | 7.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 21.8% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Fort Meade, expect four seasons and hot summers
In July, afternoons reach 88°; in January, nights fall to 26°, and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Protected land: 2.5% of Fort Meade
The biggest park or preserve is Burba Lake Recreation Area, at 59 acres. Count the trails in 5 parks and preserves and they come to 0.8 miles. Fort Meade’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Fort Meade | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Burba Lake Recreation Area | — | 59 |
| 2. Baltimore-Washington Parkway | — | 43 |
| 3. Patuxent Research Refuge | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Fort Meade sells for about $477K
In Fort Meade, the median rent is $2,435 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Fort Meade
Colleges nearby
10 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Meade
About 14 of every 100 Fort Meade residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Famous people from Fort Meade
7 notable people were born in Fort Meade.
About Fort Meade
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,324 at the 2020 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency, which are located on the U.S. Army post Fort George G. Meade.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 180 ft
Fort Meade’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Fort Meade.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Meade | #135 | B | D− | — | B− | A |
| Severn | #116 | B+ | D | — | B− | A− |
| Odenton | #102 | A− | D | — | B− | A |
| Maryland City | #155 | B− | D | — | B− | B+ |
| Jessup | #139 | B | D | — | B+ | B |
Fort Meade, Severn, Odenton, Maryland City and Jessup report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Meade with a neighbor →
Questions about Fort Meade
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fort Meade, MD a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Fort Meade grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #135 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.