Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
North East is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 194th of 259 graded towns in Maryland, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $92K. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 11 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $395K, 4.3 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. Only 14 of Maryland’s 329 towns score lower on the outdoors. 0.6% of the land in North East is conserved, against 9.5% in Maryland’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. North East is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns.
Where North East beats most towns.
Gilpin's Falls Covered Bridge3,572 counted in 2010 and 4,085 in 2020; an estimated 4,237 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 North East is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 338 in 1850, 4,085 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 7 maps from 1898 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in North East, 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 North East.
North East has little public open land, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims and trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
63 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 63 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North East.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Cecil County Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 758 | C+ |
| The Tome School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 437 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 127 to 63 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
North East reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. Within Maryland, it does better than 43% of towns. At 2.6 per 1,000 residents, North East’s violent crime rate is near the Maryland town median (2.3) and above the median of U.S. towns (1.6).
| North East | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.3 per 1,000 residents | 14.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
North East has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 47% of residents (40% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). North East has grown 3% since 2020, to 4,237 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 40% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| North East | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 40% | 42% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.5 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.4 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women.
| North East | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.3% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 19.6% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.5% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.1% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.6% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.4% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.5% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.7% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.8% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,200, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 9,784 U.S. towns with household incomes like North East’s, it is less healthy than 81%, so it trails even them.
North East beats the Maryland average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in North East.
| North East | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | North East | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 3% | 3.4% |
| More smokers | 16% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 2,076 in 2013 to 1,300.
Since 2013, North East has lost 776 jobs, to 1,300 in 2023. North East’s average trip to work is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Elkton (10%), Baltimore (4%) and Perryville (2%).
| North East | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
62% of North East households own their home. The typical North East home is worth about $395,000, about the same as a year ago, 7% below the Maryland typical home. The median rent in North East is $1,329 a month.
| North East | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,329 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Just 8 of its 1,323 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in North East itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North East Community Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North East. Close and well known come first.
23 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
23 mi MuseumWinterthur Museum, Garden and Library
23 mi LandmarkFort Christina
34 mi Stadium & arenaSubaru Park
33 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
20 mi LandmarkFort DelawareLongwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library: Photo by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5 · Fort Christina: Jerrye & Roy Klotz MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Subaru Park: Something Original (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Delaware: Michael Swanda, U.S. Army Corps of Enginers, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of North East
About 4 of every 100 North East residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Town in Maryland, United States
North East is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located between Philadelphia and Baltimore. As of the 2020 census, North East had a population of 4,085. The Turkey Point Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The Gilpin's Falls Covered Bridge was listed in 2008.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
North East grades C overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #194 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Maryland, it does better than 43% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Harry Anderson and Kevin Hornberger.
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