Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,202, settled in 1828.
Indian Head gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $341K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. It grades B overall, 153rd of 259 graded towns in Maryland. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Indian Head’s average trip to work is 45 minutes, above both the Maryland town median (32 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Indian Head's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns. Among 261 Maryland towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Indian Head.
Where Indian Head beats most towns.
Where Indian Head’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 Indian Head is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
![Indian Head, M.D. [and] Fish house](https://images.townratings.com/story/7443/fadb7be929de847fb7a7-l.jpg)
Census counts: 1,240 in 1930, a low of 491 in 1950, 3,894 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 6 maps from 1913 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Indian Head. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw21 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw21 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw21 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Indian Head, 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 Indian Head.
Indian Head trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and sends many workers across the state line to Arlington, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
1.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Indian Head’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Indian Head | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Village Green | 0.3 mi | 14 |
| 2. Charlie Wright Memorial Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Posey Gift (Maryland Environmental Trust) | 0.1 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Charles County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Head Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 443 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 97% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Indian Head.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations. Indian Head has 387 jobs for its 1,684 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Indian Head for work: only 1% work in town. Jobs based in Indian Head grew to 387 in 2023, 45 more than in 2013. The median household income in Indian Head is $89,000.
| Indian Head | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $89,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 3.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.7% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Indian Head has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 27° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $341K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles. At 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $341K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Indian Head home is worth about $341,000, down 1.2% in a year, 20% below the Maryland typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 10,060 U.S. towns with household incomes like Indian Head’s, it is less healthy than 77%, so it trails even them.
Indian Head beats the Maryland average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 44% of Indian Head adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Indian Head | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Indian Head | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.9% | 5.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.9% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Indian Head
About 5 of every 100 Indian Head residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Town in Charles County, Maryland, US
Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,894 at the 2020 U.S. census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900. The name of the base has varied over the years from Indian Head Proving Ground, to Naval Powder Factory, to Naval Propellant Plant, to Naval Ordnance Station, to the present Naval Support Facility Indian Head. The facility's main tenant activity is the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC/IH). Advanced research in energetic systems takes place at NSWC/IH. NSWC/IH absorbed the fun…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Indian Head.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Head | #153 | B | B+ | — | C | C+ |
| Potomac Heights | — | — | A+ | — | C | B− |
Potomac Heights has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Indian Head and Potomac Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Indian Head with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Indian Head grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #153 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C+ for health and C for schools.
Not for the 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+.
