Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rising Sun is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, ranked 201st of 259 in Maryland, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $86K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $405K for a typical one and 4.4 times the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. Rising Sun has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them West Nottingham Meetinghouse and East Nottingham Friends Meetinghouse. 58% of households are owner-occupiers in Rising Sun, where Maryland’s towns sit at 74% and U.S. towns at 73%.
Where Rising Sun beats most towns.
Census counts: 277 in 1870, 2,740 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 6 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Rising Sun is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rising Sun, 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 Rising Sun.
Households in Rising Sun have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2016. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in four fifths of U.S. communities. 51% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by drought at 9%. This Maryland town has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 1999.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Public schools: the Cecil County Public Schools. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Rising Sun’s public school: 592 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Sun Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 592 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
28% of working residents cross a state line to work.
For Rising Sun, the average trip to work is 32 minutes. Only 4% of working residents stay in Rising Sun for work; the rest commute out. In Rising Sun, 13% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Elkton (8%), Baltimore (5%) and Bel Air (4%).
| Rising Sun | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 86° and January nights of 23°, with about 18 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Rising Sun’s level of property crime stands at 6.8 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025.
| Rising Sun | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 14.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
For adults in Rising Sun, the share who get no exercise outside work is 27%. Of 32 CDC measures, Rising Sun beats the Maryland average on 1 and trails it on 10.
| Rising Sun | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Rising Sun | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.9% | 8.4% |
| More smokers | 15.8% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Walkers can cover 0.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. For Rising Sun, the density of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Rising Sun | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Community Park of Rising Sun | — | 9 |
| 2. Triangle Dog Park and Trails | 0.1 mi | 4 |
| 3. Diddie Richardson Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow values the typical Rising Sun home at about $405,000, up 2.9% in a year, close to the Maryland typical home. The town’s typical rent comes in at $1,210 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rising Sun. Close and well known come first.
24 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
25 mi MuseumWinterthur Museum, Garden and Library
37 mi Stadium & arenaSubaru Park
28 mi LandmarkFort Christina
24 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
20 mi MuseumRailroad Museum of PennsylvaniaLongwood 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 · Subaru Park: Something Original (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Christina: Jerrye & Roy Klotz MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Dough4872, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Rising Sun
About 5 of every 100 Rising Sun residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Where Rising Sun’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Rising Sun on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Rising Sun.
Town in Maryland, United States
Rising Sun is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Rising Sun had a population of 2,740.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rising Sun grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #201 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C+ for health and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
3 notable people were born here, including James Gerry and Norman T. Kirk.
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