Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Greenbelt's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades C−, ranked 235th of 259 in Maryland. Natural-hazard risk is low and it has 17 miles of trail and 40% conserved land. Its weakest subject is safety: its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 147 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Greenbelt’s property crime rate is 35.6 per 1,000 residents, where Maryland’s towns sit at 13.8 and U.S. towns at 9.9. Greenbelt's public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. Greenbelt Park, at 1,018 acres with 11.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Greenbelt beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
40.1% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Greenbelt is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 4%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Greenbelt Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,831 in 1940, 24,921 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1935 and 2 maps from 1897 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Greenbelt. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw11 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw11 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw12 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest 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 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Greenbelt, and how to reach them.
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 Greenbelt.
Greenbelt sends many workers across the state line and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Maryland, but it reports more crime than Riverdale Park and its other graded neighbors.
Its 1,607 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Maryland towns.
17 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Greenbelt’s trail density is 2.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenbelt Park | 11.2 mi | 1,018 |
| 2. Buddy Attick Lake Park | 1.8 mi | 70 |
| 3. Schrom Hills Lake Park | 0.4 mi | 46 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Eleanor Roosevelt High, with 2,544 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenbelt MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,270 | B− |
| Eleanor Roosevelt HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,544 | A+ |
| Dora Kennedy French ImmersionTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 684 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Riverdale Park (D) to Berwyn Heights (C+). Reported crimes fell from 1,509 to 1,031 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Greenbelt is 5.9 per 1,000 residents. Greenbelt reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 94% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Greenbelt.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.2 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $274K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; East Riverdale is next at $363K.
The typical Greenbelt home is worth about $274,000, down 4% in a year, 36% below the Maryland typical home. 47% of households own their home in Greenbelt.
| Greenbelt | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,848 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Greenbelt has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
23% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave Greenbelt for work: only 4% work in town. 19% of Greenbelt residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Washington (23%), College Park (4%) and Baltimore (3%).
| Greenbelt | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 17% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Maryland it is less healthy than 68% of the 261 graded towns: Maryland sets a high bar.
Greenbelt beats the Maryland average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Greenbelt | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 38% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| What stands out | Greenbelt | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.5% | 5.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.8% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
19.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.4% across Maryland, which weighs on its B− for jobs and income. Only 47.1% of households own their home, against 67.6% across Maryland.
Adults 18 to 34 are 26% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 35% of residents (40% statewide). 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| Greenbelt | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.6 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 42% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.7, men 30.9.
| Greenbelt | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.1% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.2% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.9% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.5% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
32 within 15 miles of the center of Greenbelt
About 8 of every 100 Greenbelt residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
8 notable people were born in Greenbelt.
City in Maryland, United States
Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental New Deal Greenbelt Towns, the others being Greenhills, Ohio, and Greendale, Wisconsin. Greenbelt was planned and built by the federal government as an all-White town. The cooperative community was conceived in 1935 by Undersecretary of Agriculture Rexford Tugwell, whose perceived collectivist ideology attracted opposition to the Greenbelt Towns project throughout its short duration. The project came into legal existence on April 8, 1935, when Congress passed the Emergency Relie…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Greenbelt.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenbelt | #235 | C− | B− | D− | D | B |
| Berwyn Heights | #171 | C+ | C− | C+ | D | A− |
| College Park | – | B− | C+ | — | D | B+ |
| Seabrook | #207 | C | C | — | D | B− |
| Riverdale Park | #250 | D | C− | D | D | C |
| East Riverdale | #240 | C− | C+ | — | D | C− |
| New Carrollton | #236 | C− | C | C− | D | C+ |
College Park, Seabrook and East Riverdale report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Greenbelt with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Greenbelt grades C− overall, better than 21% of U.S. towns and #235 of 259 in Maryland. It grades B for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.2 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 B−.
8 notable people were born here, including Afia Charles and Delonte Holland.
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