Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,056, settled in 1833.
Middletown is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 21st of 259 graded towns in Maryland. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country, the median household earns $173K, and its schools rank ahead of 76% of Maryland towns. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Middletown’s median household income is $173,000, above both Maryland’s towns ($113,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Only 10 of Maryland’s 329 towns score higher on the outdoors. Middletown has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bennies Hill Road Bridge and Shafer's Mill.
Where Middletown beats most towns.
4,136 counted in 2010 and 4,943 in 2020; an estimated 5,056 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Middletown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 746 in 1870, 4,943 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1968 and 3 maps from 1944 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Middletown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
Big draw32 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
37 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a year
10 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year
40 mi LandmarkCIA Memorial Wall
11 mi National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a yearRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CIA Memorial Wall: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Middletown, 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 Middletown.
Middletown has less food insecurity than most of Maryland, is one of Maryland’s best towns for the outdoors and has household incomes well above the Maryland norm.
Its widest gap with Maryland is food insecurity: 6.9% of its 3,549 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.4% statewide. Against the 1,582 U.S. towns with household incomes like Middletown’s, it is healthier than 58%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
9.5% of Middletown adults report frequent physical distress. Middletown beats the Maryland average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 17% of Middletown adults get no exercise outside work.
| Middletown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Middletown | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.9% | 13.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Frederick County Public Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Middletown High, with 1,059 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 784 | B+ |
| Middletown HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,059 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 97% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #8 of 261 in Maryland.
2.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Middletown’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Middletown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 19% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middletown Recreational Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Wiles Branch Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Wiles Branch Park Athletic Field | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29.3% of workers work from home, against 19.3% across Maryland.
1.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Middletown. Jobs based in Middletown grew to 1,234 in 2023, 161 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Middletown is 33 minutes.
| Middletown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 1.1% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Middletown home is worth about $558,000, about the same as a year ago, 31% above the Maryland typical home.
| Middletown | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,813 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 74% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Middletown has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 24° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
4 within 15 miles of the center of Middletown
About 4 of every 100 Middletown residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
19% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
4 places in Middletown on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Middletown.
Town in Maryland
Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Middletown had a population of 4,943. Located in the Middletown Valley that stretches between the Catoctin Mountains on the east and South Mountain on the west, the town reportedly gained its name from its location midway between those ranges.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Middletown grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #21 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and A− for schools.
That is 4.4 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Charlie Keller and Hal Keller.
