Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Leonardtown grades A− overall, 93rd among Maryland's 259 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $154K and it is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 68% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $530K for a typical one and 4.2 times the Lexington Park metro’s $126K median household income. Leonardtown’s median household income is $154,000, where Maryland’s towns sit at $113,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Its National Register listings include Tudor Hall and Buena Vista. Among 261 Maryland towns, just 10 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Leonardtown.
Where Leonardtown beats most towns.
Tudor Hall
Its founding year, 1660, comes before those of 99% of the Maryland towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 568 in 1860, 4,563 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Leonardtown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Leonardtown, 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 Leonardtown.
Leonardtown has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Maryland, draws workers from California and beyond and has less food insecurity than most of Maryland.
5,699 jobs are based in Leonardtown, 3.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Leonardtown for work: only 16% work in town. Since 2013, Leonardtown has added 487 jobs, to 5,699 in 2023. Leonardtown’s average trip to work is 29 minutes.
| Leonardtown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the St. Mary's County Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Walter Francis Duke ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 516 | B+ |
| St. Mary's Ryken High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 687 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 91% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Leonardtown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Maryland is food insecurity: 9.7% of its 3,272 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 2,524 U.S. towns with household incomes like Leonardtown’s, it is less healthy than 70%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
17% of Leonardtown adults binge drink. Leonardtown beats the Maryland average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 9.7% of Leonardtown adults worry about having enough food.
| Leonardtown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Leonardtown | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.8% | 8.4% |
| More binge drinkers | 16.9% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Leonardtown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Miedzinski Park | — | 18 |
| 2. Leonard's Grant Recreation Area | 0.2 mi | 5 |
| 3. Leonard's Grant Community Area | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median rent in Leonardtown is $2,002 a month. The typical Leonardtown home is worth about $530,000, up 2.7% in a year, 25% above the Maryland typical home. 65% of households own their home in Leonardtown.
| Leonardtown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,002 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Patuxent River Nas weather station, 12 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 230 days, the highest of 536 Maryland places with climate records.
Leonardtown has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 27° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Leonardtown. Close and well known come first.
16 mi National MonumentGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument72K visitors a year
23 mi State parkPoint Lookout State Park
13 mi Ancient siteU-1105
36 mi Ancient siteMallows Bay
36 mi ParkwayGeorge Washington Memorial Parkway6.7M visitors a year
10 mi MuseumPatuxent River Naval Air MuseumGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Point Lookout State Park: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · U-1105: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Mallows Bay: Amazur, CC BY-SA 3.0 · George Washington Memorial Parkway: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain · Patuxent River Naval Air Museum: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Leonardtown
About 4 of every 100 Leonardtown residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
2,930 counted in 2010 and 4,563 in 2020; an estimated 5,033 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 11.5% since 2020, after 55.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 places in Leonardtown on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Leonardtown.
Town in Maryland, United States
Leonardtown is a town in and the county seat of St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,563 at the 2020 census. Historic Leonardtown includes both a large public high school and a public middle school Leonardtown Middle School as well as a Catholic high school and an elementary school Leonardtown Elementary School, offices of the county government, and St. Mary's Hospital which serves the healthcare needs of the county. The College of Southern Maryland maintains a growing satellite campus within city limits, including an aquatic center. An upscale home development located in the Breton Bay area is just outside town, notable for both its country club golf course and …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Leonardtown grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #93 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A− 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.
13 notable people were born here, including Alfred Gough and Benedict Joseph Fenwick.
