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Chestertown Historic DistrictChestertown, #1 on this list · Chestertown Historic District · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0
Maryland rankings · Civic life

Towns with the most civic life in Maryland

Chestertown ranks first on civic life among Maryland’s 67 towns of 2,500+; 13 of the 67 grade A− or better on civic life nationally.

The Civic life grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): library visits per resident (IMLS), community nonprofits (IRS) and volunteering groups. How grades work

#1

Chestertown

Kent County · 5,658 people
A

Civic life grade, better than 92% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #232 of 259 in MD

#2

Thurmont

Frederick County · 6,337 people
A

Civic life grade, better than 89% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #12 of 259 in MD

#3

Boonsboro

Washington County · 3,867 people
A

Civic life grade, better than 89% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #88 of 259 in MD

All 67 towns

Civic life grade, best first (the letter is national). Towns with the same score share a rank; the overall grade and state rank are beside each.

67 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.

#TownGradeOverall
1ChestertownKent County · 5,658 peopleAbetter than 92% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #232 of 259
2ThurmontFrederick County · 6,337 peopleAbetter than 89% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #12 of 259
3BoonsboroWashington County · 3,867 peopleAbetter than 89% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #88 of 259
4HagerstownWashington County · 44,228 peopleAbetter than 88% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #244 of 259
5Takoma ParkMontgomery County · 17,260 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #150 of 259
6WalkersvilleFrederick County · 6,501 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #2 of 259
7CentrevilleQueen Anne's County · 4,782 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #84 of 259
8MiddletownFrederick County · 5,056 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #21 of 259
9Chevy ChaseMontgomery County · 2,804 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #25 of 259
10SmithsburgWashington County · 3,212 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #85 of 259
11LeonardtownSt. Mary's County · 5,033 peopleA−better than 80% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #93 of 259
12KensingtonMontgomery County · 2,652 peopleA−better than 80% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #56 of 259
13Pocomoke CityWorcester County · 4,421 peopleA−better than 75% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #223 of 259
14PoolesvilleMontgomery County · 5,942 peopleB+better than 74% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #15 of 259
15FrostburgAllegany County · 6,979 peopleB+better than 72% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #108 of 259
16Mount AiryCarroll County · 9,857 peopleB+better than 72% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #83 of 259
17BrunswickFrederick County · 9,380 peopleB+better than 70% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #8 of 259
18PerryvilleCecil County · 4,592 peopleB+better than 67% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #199 of 259
19Bel AirHarford County · 10,507 peopleB+better than 67% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #158 of 259
20WestminsterCarroll County · 20,589 peopleB+better than 66% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #115 of 259
21DentonCaroline County · 5,075 peopleBbetter than 64% of U.S. towns·Overall D− · #257 of 259
22EastonTalbot County · 17,293 peopleBbetter than 64% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #188 of 259
23ManchesterCarroll County · 5,426 peopleBbetter than 60% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #14 of 259
24RockvilleMontgomery County · 67,563 peopleBbetter than 60% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #86 of 259
25La PlataCharles County · 12,137 peopleBbetter than 59% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #130 of 259
26College Park College campusPrince George's County · 35,418 peopleBbetter than 58% of U.S. towns·Overall B−
27AnnapolisAnne Arundel County · 40,634 peopleBbetter than 57% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #176 of 259
28HampsteadCarroll County · 6,281 peopleBbetter than 56% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #22 of 259
29FrederickFrederick County · 92,059 peopleBbetter than 55% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #114 of 259
30Rising SunCecil County · 2,761 peopleB−better than 55% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #201 of 259
31CumberlandAllegany County · 18,799 peopleB−better than 54% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #241 of 259
32Havre de GraceHarford County · 15,630 peopleB−better than 53% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #107 of 259
33BowiePrince George's County · 58,383 peopleB−better than 53% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #173 of 259
34TaneytownCarroll County · 8,259 peopleB−better than 52% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #70 of 259
35SalisburyWicomico County · 33,845 peopleB−better than 49% of U.S. towns·Overall D− · #256 of 259
36CrisfieldSomerset County · 2,555 peopleB−better than 48% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #253 of 259
37CambridgeDorchester County · 13,457 peopleB−better than 47% of U.S. towns·Overall D− · #259 of 259
38Princess AnneSomerset County · 3,642 peopleB−better than 46% of U.S. towns·Overall D− · #258 of 259
39Chesapeake BeachCalvert County · 6,466 peopleB−better than 46% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #24 of 259
40LaurelPrince George's County · 30,254 peopleC+better than 45% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #226 of 259
41SykesvilleCarroll County · 4,602 peopleC+better than 45% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #20 of 259
42GreenbeltPrince George's County · 24,948 peopleC+better than 41% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #235 of 259
43EmmitsburgFrederick County · 2,910 peopleC+better than 39% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #27 of 259
44North EastCecil County · 4,237 peopleC+better than 38% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #194 of 259
45BaltimoreBaltimore city · 569,997 peopleC+better than 37% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #251 of 259
46BerlinWorcester County · 5,335 peopleC+better than 35% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #103 of 259
47ElktonCecil County · 16,670 peopleCbetter than 34% of U.S. towns·Overall D− · #255 of 259
48AberdeenHarford County · 18,374 peopleCbetter than 32% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #214 of 259
49GlenardenPrince George's County · 6,422 peopleCbetter than 32% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #151 of 259
50GaithersburgMontgomery County · 71,113 peopleCbetter than 31% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #91 of 259
51Mount RainierPrince George's County · 8,307 peopleCbetter than 29% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #247 of 259
52HyattsvillePrince George's County · 21,158 peopleC−better than 22% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #242 of 259
53Ocean CityWorcester County · 6,840 peopleC−better than 22% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #141 of 259
54FederalsburgCaroline County · 2,864 peopleC−better than 19% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #254 of 259
55BrentwoodPrince George's County · 3,828 peopleC−better than 18% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #245 of 259
56FruitlandWicomico County · 6,007 peopleC−better than 16% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #249 of 259
57Forest HeightsPrince George's County · 2,618 peopleDbetter than 12% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #183 of 259
58DelmarWicomico County · 4,896 peopleDbetter than 11% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #233 of 259
59CheverlyPrince George's County · 6,164 peopleDbetter than 11% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #228 of 259
60Capitol HeightsPrince George's County · 4,044 peopleDbetter than 11% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #197 of 259
61Berwyn HeightsPrince George's County · 3,338 peopleDbetter than 10% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #171 of 259
62Seat PleasantPrince George's County · 4,524 peopleDbetter than 8% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #243 of 259
63Indian HeadCharles County · 4,202 peopleDbetter than 6% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #153 of 259
64District HeightsPrince George's County · 5,938 peopleD−better than 3% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #239 of 259
65BladensburgPrince George's County · 9,671 peopleD−better than 2% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #252 of 259
66New CarrolltonPrince George's County · 13,644 peopleD−better than 2% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #236 of 259
67Riverdale ParkPrince George's County · 7,343 peopleD−better than 2% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #250 of 259
Not ranked

194 towns without a civic life grade

Towns of 2,500+ that don’t have the figures this grade needs. Each town’s page says which ones are missing.

Quick answers

Questions people ask

Which Maryland town has the most civic life?

Chestertown (Kent County) ranks first on civic life among 67 towns, with an A; Thurmont and Boonsboro follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Civic life grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): library visits per resident (IMLS), community nonprofits (IRS) and volunteering groups. Towns are sorted on the grade’s score; the letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers towns of 2,500+ residents with a civic life grade (67 in Maryland). 194 towns of 2,500+ lack the figures and are listed above. Smaller towns have the grade on their page but no rank. Every town is on the Maryland page.

Go deeper

More Maryland lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Maryland rankings →
Best places to live259 towns · #1 DamascusBest small towns121 towns · #1 WalkersvilleMost affordable towns260 towns · #1 CresaptownSafest towns52 towns · #1 FrostburgTowns with the best schools261 towns · #1 Berlin and Ocean City and Ocean Pines and Pocomoke City and West Ocean CityHealthiest towns261 towns · #1 Bethesda and Chevy ChaseBest towns for jobs & income261 towns · #1 FultonMost walkable towns261 towns · #1 Friendship Heights VillageTowns with the lowest natural-hazard risk261 towns · #1 Naval AcademyBest towns for the outdoors261 towns · #1 Forest HeightsMost historic towns261 towns · #1 BaltimoreTowns with the least snow259 towns · #1 BethesdaDescribed, no lettersSnowiest towns259 towns · #1 FrostburgDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters216 towns · #1 Ocean City and West Ocean CityDescribed, no lettersTowns with the hottest summers216 towns · #1 Brooklyn ParkDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers216 towns · #1 FrostburgDescribed, no lettersTowns with the highest incomes261 towns · #1 Chevy Chase and TravilahDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest property taxes251 towns · #1 CresaptownDescribed, no lettersFastest-growing towns66 towns · #1 DelmarDescribed, no letters
Other states

Towns with the most civic life in other states

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