Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A solid town with one catch. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A+). Overall, Glen Burnie earns a B, which places it 138th of 259 in Maryland. It comes out better than 61% of U.S. towns. Walkability is another plus (A−): it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $391K, 3.9 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. The city has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Freetown Rosenwald School and First Avenue School. The rest of its grades are middling: B− for schools and B− for health.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Glen Burnie beats most towns.
Freetown Rosenwald SchoolEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Glen Burnie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 38,922 in 2000, 72,891 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1894 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glen Burnie. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw29 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw31 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw31 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw29 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaM&T Bank StadiumWhite 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 · M&T Bank Stadium: United States Department of Defense Cherie Cullen, Public domain
Glen Burnie 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Glen Burnie.
Glen Burnie is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Maryland; it also has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Glen Burnie’s FEMA hazard score comes in at 2 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 27 claims in the town since 1979. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 39% come from inland flooding and 12% from heat waves. One declared disaster, in 2003, has brought federal aid to Glen Burnie households.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Of its 23 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. Public schools: the Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Mill Middle SouthLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,173 | B+ |
| Glen Burnie HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,226 | A− |
| Old Mill HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,832 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expect July afternoons of 89° and January nights of 28°, with about 19 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 35,438 in 2013 to 26,436.
Only 9% of working residents stay in Glen Burnie for work; the rest commute out. Glen Burnie’s median household income is $88,000, against $113,000 in Maryland’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Jobs based here fell to 26,436 in 2023, 9,002 fewer than in 2013. Its average commute comes in at 27 minutes.
| Glen Burnie | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 12% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.7% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
64% of households live in a home they own in Glen Burnie. Its median rent is $1,648 a month, below the Maryland town median ($1,810 a month) but above the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Also worth knowing: the typical home value here is about $391,000, about the same as a year ago, 8% below the Maryland typical home. Homes sold in Glen Burnie spent a median 40 days on the market.
| Glen Burnie | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,648 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Maryland it is less healthy than 72% of the 261 graded towns: Maryland sets a high bar.
The share of adults in Glen Burnie who worry about having enough food: 17%. Of 32 CDC measures, Glen Burnie beats the Maryland average on 1 and trails it on 6.
| Glen Burnie | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Glen Burnie | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 34.4% | 38.1% |
| More smokers | 13.7% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails total 3.4 miles in 13 parks and preserves. Glen Burnie’s trail density stands at 0.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Bachman Sports Complex, at 61 acres.
| Glen Burnie | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Arundel Aquatic Center | 0.6 mi | 24 |
| 2. Cedar/ Morris Hills Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
| 3. Bachman Sports Complex | 0.2 mi | 61 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
16 within 15 miles of the center of Glen Burnie
About 6 of every 100 Glen Burnie residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
3 places in Glen Burnie on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Glen Burnie.
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 72,891 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Glen Burnie.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Burnie | #138 | B | C | — | B− | B− |
| Pasadena | #123 | B+ | C− | — | B− | A− |
| Ferndale | #128 | B | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Severna Park | #79 | A− | C− | — | B− | A |
| Severn | #116 | B+ | D | — | B− | A− |
| Brooklyn Park | #94 | A− | B | — | B− | B− |
| Baltimore | #251 | D | B− | D− | D− | C |
Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Ferndale, Severna Park, Severn and Brooklyn Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Glen Burnie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Glen Burnie grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #138 of 259 in Maryland. It grades B− for health and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
4 notable people were born here, including Gillberg and Bill Currier.
