Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 25,134, settled in 1822.
Fort Washington grades C+ overall, 185th among Maryland's 259 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $143K and natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. Fort Washington’s median rent is $2,690 a month, where Maryland’s towns sit at $1,809 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Fort Washington is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. Fort Washington has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fort Washington and St. John's Church.
Where Fort Washington beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Colin L Powell Academy | PK–8 | 1,661 |
| Fort Washington Forest Elem | PK–5 | 323 |
| Fort Foote Elementary | PK–5 | 277 |
Where Fort Washington’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 Fort Washington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 24,032 in 1990, 24,261 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1793 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Washington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw11 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw11 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw11 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw11 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw11 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
Fort Washington is unincorporated, so Prince George's 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 Fort Washington.
Fort Washington sends many workers across the state line to Arlington and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Maryland.
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools. One of its 6 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin L Powell AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,661 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 45 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Washington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
51% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations. Fort Washington has 2,642 jobs for its 10,424 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Fort Washington for work: only 2% work in town. The average trip to work in Fort Washington is 38 minutes. Since 2013, Fort Washington has lost 376 jobs, to 2,642 in 2023.
| Fort Washington | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $143,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Maryland it is less healthy than 59% of the 261 graded towns: Maryland sets a high bar. Against the 3,288 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Washington’s, it is less healthy than 88%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
13% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Fort Washington. Fort Washington beats the Maryland average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 16% of adults have diabetes in Fort Washington.
| Fort Washington | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 20% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Fort Washington | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with depression | 13.1% | 19.4% |
| Fewer smokers | 8.2% | 10.9% |
| More adults with diabetes | 15.7% | 12.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fort Washington has chilly winters and warm summers. Fort Washington’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
6.4 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Fort Washington Park, 351 acres with 4.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Washington Park | 4.3 mi | 351 |
| 2. Fort Foote Park | 1.4 mi | 74 |
| 3. Piscataway Creek Stream Valley Park | — | 259 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 19% of Fort Washington residents are under 18. 43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| Fort Washington | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.9 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 42% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 48.4, men 43.9.
| Fort Washington | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.2% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.1% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.6% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.9% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Fort Washington home is worth about $444,000, down 0.9% in a year, close to the Maryland typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
29 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Washington
About 6 of every 100 Fort Washington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
4 places in Fort Washington on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Fort Washington.
Census-designated place in Maryland
Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 24,261. The Fort Washington community is located west of Maryland Route 210, with some additional area to the east of the highway.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fort Washington.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Washington | #185 | C+ | C− | — | D | B+ |
| Accokeek | #210 | C | C− | — | D | B+ |
| Clinton | #192 | C+ | C+ | — | D | B− |
| National Harbor | #215 | C | D | — | D | B+ |
| Friendly | #191 | C+ | C− | — | D | B− |
| Oxon Hill | #168 | B− | B− | — | D | B− |
Fort Washington, Accokeek, Clinton, National Harbor, Friendly and Oxon Hill report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Washington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Washington grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #185 of 259 in Maryland. It grades B+ for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($126,684 across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 C−.
14 notable people were born here, including Jeff Kinney and Tim Miller.
