FultonMD
A town of 5,677, settled in 1882.
Is Fulton a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Fulton earns an A+, 16th of 259 graded towns in Maryland. The median household earns $222K, it is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, and its schools outperform 88% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $972K for a typical one and 9.8 times the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. 85% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Fulton, against 42% in Maryland’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 1 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Fulton. The biggest park or preserve is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, at 125 acres.
What makes Fulton stand out
Where Fulton beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Fulton | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 2.7% | 9.9% |
Jobs vs. working residents
Fulton has grown 189% from 2010 to 2020
2,049 counted in 2010 and 5,916 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Fulton grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Fulton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
White House and 281 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fulton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw19 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw20 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw19 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearPhoto 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 · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Moving to Fulton: who provides what
Fulton is unincorporated, so Howard 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 Fulton.
Fulton has schools in the top 5% of Maryland, draws workers from Columbia and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Maryland.
Fulton’s grade for cost of living is a D
At 9.8 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $972K) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Fulton’s median rent is $3,074 a month. The typical Fulton home is worth about $972,000, up 2% in a year, more than twice the Maryland typical home. 80% of households own their home in Fulton.
| Fulton | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,074 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 74% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Fulton’s grade for schools is an A
Its A ranks #12 of the 261 Maryland towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $972K.
Its public schools are run by the Howard County Public Schools. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Reservoir High, with 1,597 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 872 | A |
| Reservoir HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,597 | A+ |
| Lime Kiln MiddleTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 675 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
A smaller share of adults report frequent physical distress in Fulton than in most of Maryland or the rest of the country
Its widest gap with Maryland is tooth loss: 2.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide.
7.5% of Fulton adults report frequent physical distress. No town among the 261 in Maryland we compare has a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Fulton. 11% of Fulton adults report frequent mental distress.
| Fulton | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.3% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fulton | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 2.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.8% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.7% | 76.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Fulton, the median household income runs higher than in the typical Maryland or U.S. town
15,108 jobs are based in Fulton, 5.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 2,493 in 2013 to 15,108.
Among 261 Maryland towns, just 5 have a higher median household income than Fulton. Jobs based in Fulton grew to 15,108 in 2023, 12,615 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Fulton for work: only 11% work in town.
| Fulton | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $222,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fulton faces a very low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
17.5% of Fulton is conserved land
1.4 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, at 125 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. T. Howard Duckett Watershed | — | 125 |
| 2. Midtown Park | 0.2 mi | 5 |
| 3. Bass Circle Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Fulton
Fulton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Fulton
Colleges nearby
10 within 15 miles of the center of Fulton
About 5 of every 100 Fulton residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Every workday, about 14,817 people come to Fulton for work
Where Fulton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Fulton’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Fulton.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton | #16 | A+ | D | — | A | A+ |
| Scaggsville | #43 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
Fulton and Scaggsville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fulton with a neighbor →
Questions about Fulton
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fulton, MD a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Fulton grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #16 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Fulton, MD expensive?
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.