Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,421, incorporated in 1865. Public schools that outperform most of Maryland.
Trash & recyclingPocomoke City gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $220K, 2.7 years of the Ocean Pines area’s $82K median household income. It grades C overall, 223rd among Maryland's 259 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns, including 28 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 80% of the country. On the plus side, its schools outperform 96% of the state's. Pocomoke City’s violent crime rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents, above both Maryland’s towns (2.3) and U.S. towns (1.6). On hazard risk, just 6 of Maryland’s 329 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Newtown Park, at 59 acres.
Where Pocomoke City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Pocomoke Elementary | PK–3 | 491 |
| Pocomoke Middle | 4–8 | 465 |
| Pocomoke High | 9–12 | 374 |
Costen House
Census counts: 1,195 in 1870, 4,295 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Pocomoke City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pocomoke City, 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 Pocomoke City.
Pocomoke City pairs an A+ for schools with modest home prices and trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Maryland (mostly hurricanes).
Its A+ for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $220K. Its A+ ranks #1 of the 261 Maryland towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Worcester County Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pocomoke High, with 374 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocomoke ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 491 | C+ |
| Pocomoke HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 374 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
The property crime rate in Pocomoke City is 30.5 per 1,000 residents. Pocomoke City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less. Within Maryland, it does better than 31% of towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $220K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles. At 2.7 years of the Ocean Pines area’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $220K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
Pocomoke City’s median rent is $836 a month. The typical Pocomoke City home is worth about $220,000, down 2.2% in a year, 48% below the Maryland typical home. 60% of Pocomoke City households own their home.
| Pocomoke City | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $836 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The nearest emergency room, Tidalhealth Peninsula Regional, is 20.9 miles away in a straight line. Against the 6,836 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pocomoke City’s, it is less healthy than 60%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
43% of adults have high blood pressure in Pocomoke City. Pocomoke City beats the Maryland average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 16% of adults have diabetes in Pocomoke City.
| Pocomoke City | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pocomoke City | MD |
|---|---|---|
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 82.4% | 79.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.8% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Pocomoke City has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 28° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Pocomoke City | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Newtown Park | 0.4 mi | 59 |
| 2. Cypress Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 1,901 working residents takes 24.6 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
Most working residents leave Pocomoke City for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Salisbury (11%), Snow Hill (5%) and Ocean City (3%).
| Pocomoke City | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 18% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Maryland towns; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Among 261 Maryland towns, just 4 have a higher FEMA risk score than Pocomoke City. Since 2011, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pocomoke City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pocomoke City. Close and well known come first.
37 mi Ancient siteUSS Texas
14 mi National SeashoreAssateague Island National Seashore2.3M visitors a year33 mi Theme parkJolly Roger Amusement Park
31 mi Theme parkTrimper's Rides21 mi Zoo & aquariumSalisbury Zoo
10 mi MuseumNASA Visitor CenterUSS Texas: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Assateague Island National Seashore: Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Trimper's Rides: Mttbme, CC BY-SA 3.0 · NASA Visitor Center: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Pocomoke City
About 5 of every 100 Pocomoke City residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Coastal flooding makes up 12% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
6 places in Pocomoke City on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Maryland, United States
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke . The population was 4,295 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pocomoke City is a center for commerce on the lower shore, home to an industrial park currently playing host to defense contractors, aerospace engineering, and plastics fabrication. Pocomoke City is located near the Wallops Island Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Pocomoke City.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pocomoke City | #223 | C | B | D | A+ | C− |
| West Pocomoke | — | — | — | — | — | — |
West Pocomoke isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pocomoke City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pocomoke City grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #223 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C− for health, D for safety and A+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Maryland, it does better than 31% 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.
