Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,857, settled in 1830.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mount Airy grades A− overall, 83rd of 259 graded towns in Maryland. The median household earns $151K. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its public schools beat 84% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $627K for a typical one and 6.3 times the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. 16% of the land in Mount Airy is conserved, where Maryland’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. On the outdoors, just 30 of Maryland’s 329 towns do better. Mount Airy Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Mount Airy beats most towns.
16.2% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Mount Airy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 91 in 1880, 9,654 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 2 maps from 1909 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Airy, 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 Mount Airy.
Mount Airy trades workers with Frederick and other neighbors and has less tooth loss than most of Maryland, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maryland.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Carroll County Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Airy MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 761 | A− |
| Mount Airy ElementaryTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 462 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maryland is tooth loss: 4.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide. Against the 2,653 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Airy’s, it is healthier than 50%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
18% of adults binge drink in Mount Airy, above both the Maryland town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mount Airy. Mount Airy beats the Maryland average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Mount Airy | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Mount Airy | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 15.4% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.7% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 6.3 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $627K) costs more against local pay than in 93% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
94% of Mount Airy households own their home. The typical Mount Airy home is worth about $627,000, up 0.9% in a year, 47% above the Maryland typical home. The median rent in Mount Airy is $1,854 a month.
| Mount Airy | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,854 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3.0 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Watkins Park, at 45 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wildwood Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
| 2. Watkins Park | 0.1 mi | 45 |
| 3. Larry Twenty Memorial Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mount Airy has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. Only 4 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a lower July high than Mount Airy.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mount Airy has about as many jobs (4,925) as working residents, but only 382 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Mount Airy for work: only 9% work in town. Mount Airy’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Since 2013, Mount Airy has added 471 jobs, to 4,925 in 2023.
| Mount Airy | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $151,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 158 to 114 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Maryland, it does better than 69% of towns.
| Mount Airy | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Airy. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw34 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw35 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw34 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw34 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw29 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain ComplexWhite 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 · Raven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Airy
About 7 of every 100 Mount Airy residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
8 notable people were born in Mount Airy.
Town in Maryland
Mount Airy is a town in Carroll and Frederick counties in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of both the Washington Metropolitan Area and Baltimore Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,654.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mount Airy grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #83 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C.
Within Maryland, it does better than 69% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
8 notable people were born here, including Josh Boone and Rob Havenstein.
