138 years in pictures
The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
- 1888Lake Shore is settled
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 18,249, settled in 1888.
Lake Shore's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B, 129th of 259 graded towns in Maryland. The median household earns $131K and it is healthier than 80% of U.S. towns. Lake Shore’s median household income is $131,000, above both Maryland’s towns ($113,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). The biggest place to walk is Magothy Greenway, 365 acres with 5.5 miles of trail. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 68% of U.S. towns.
Where Lake Shore beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Lake Shore | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 13.5% |
Where Lake Shore’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 Lake Shore is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Shore. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw32 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw34 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw34 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw32 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw15 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
Lake Shore 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 Lake Shore.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 97% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 110 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Shore.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Chesapeake High, with 1,540 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Bay MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,087 | B+ |
| Chesapeake HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,540 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
16 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lake Shore is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Magothy Greenway | 5.5 mi | 365 |
| 2. Lake Shore Athletic Complex | 3.2 mi | 154 |
| 3. Beachwood Park | 0.5 mi | 48 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Maryland is housing insecurity: 8.5% of its 15,300 adults worry about keeping their housing, against 13.5% statewide. Against the 4,463 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lake Shore’s, it is less healthy than 55%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
17% of Lake Shore adults binge drink. Lake Shore beats the Maryland average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 20% of Lake Shore adults get no exercise outside work.
| Lake Shore | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Lake Shore | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.5% | 13.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Lake Shore for work: only 6% work in town. Lake Shore’s average trip to work is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Lake Shore grew to 2,949 in 2023, 218 more than in 2013.
| Lake Shore | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.7% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lake Shore has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 28° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| Lake Shore | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42.1 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 42% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 23% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.6, men 42.7.
| Lake Shore | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.9% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.1% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.5% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.5% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
91% of households own their home in Lake Shore.
| Lake Shore | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,806 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Shore
About 3 of every 100 Lake Shore residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Lake Shore is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located east of Pasadena. The population of Lake Shore was 19,477 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lake Shore.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Pasadena (B+) is closest.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Shore | #129 | B | C | — | B− | A− |
| Pasadena | #123 | B+ | C− | — | B− | A− |
| Severna Park | #79 | A− | C− | — | B− | A |
| Arnold | #100 | A− | C− | — | B− | A |
Lake Shore, Pasadena, Severna Park and Arnold report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lake Shore with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lake Shore grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #129 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A− for health and B− for schools.
The typical home is worth about $474,000, 11% above the Maryland typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.