Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Riverdale Park earns a D, 250th of 259 graded towns in Maryland, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 92% of the state's. Its police reported 26 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. In its favor, the median household earns $120K. 26% of the land in Riverdale Park is conserved, against 9.5% in Maryland’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. On hazard risk, just 14 of Maryland’s 329 towns do worse.
Where Riverdale Park beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Riverdale Elementary | PK–5 | 586 |
| College Park Academy | 6–12 | 682 |
Where Riverdale Park’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Riverdale Park is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 8%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Riversdale is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,533 in 1930, 7,351 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1801 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Riverdale Park. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw8 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw8 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw10 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw9 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw5 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest StadiumWhite 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 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Riverdale Park, 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 Riverdale Park.
Riverdale Park draws workers from Washington and beyond and fares better on crime within Maryland than nationally, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Maryland (mostly inland flooding).
3,997 jobs are based in Riverdale Park, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 27% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations.
Since 2013, Riverdale Park has added 349 jobs, to 3,997 in 2023. Most people who work leave Riverdale Park to do it: just 3% work in town. Among residents here, 18% live below the poverty line, where Maryland’s towns sit at 7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The town’s typical journey to work stands at 30 minutes.
| Riverdale Park | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 3.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is College Park Academy, with 682 students. The 2 public schools in Riverdale Park teach 1,268 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 586 | D− |
| College Park AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 682 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Trails total 1.9 miles in 14 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Anacostia River Stream Valley Park, at 161 acres. In Riverdale Park, the trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anacostia River Stream Valley Park | 0.5 mi | 161 |
| 2. Riverdale Recreation Center | 0.3 mi | 37 |
| 3. Park and Recreation Administration Building | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 52.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 75% of Maryland’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 253 to 173 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Riverdale Park’s rate of reported violence comes in at 3.6 per 1,000 residents. Its property crime rate stands at 20.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Riverdale Park | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 5,743 U.S. towns with household incomes like Riverdale Park’s, it is less healthy than 96%, so it trails even them.
In Riverdale Park, 71% of adults had a checkup this year, and 32% get no exercise outside work. This Maryland town beats the Maryland average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. Among adults here, 31% worry about having enough food.
| Riverdale Park | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 14% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 8% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 79% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Riverdale Park | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.5% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 20.8% | 25.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 23.7% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The July high for Riverdale Park comes to 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
17.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 9.4% across Maryland, which weighs on its A− for jobs and income.
25% never finished high school. In Riverdale Park, one in ten residents are 65 or older. Among adults 25 and older, 34% have a four-year degree or more, against 44% across Maryland. The town’s median age is 37 years.
| Riverdale Park | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 9.7% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 37 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 42% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 70% are men (MD 46%).
| Riverdale Park | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.6% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.9% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 25.3% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.3% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.7% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.2% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.5% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Maryland towns, with expected losses of about $115 per resident a year; that rating is what its B for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Riverdale Park break down as 69% from inland flooding and 8% from heat waves. The natural-hazard score from FEMA here is 46 of 100. Also worth knowing: households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2016.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $6,559, against $4,093 across Maryland, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in Riverdale Park typically sold within 36 days of listing. For households here, the share who live in a home they own is 51%. 43% of the homes sold in Riverdale Park went for more than their asking price.
| Riverdale Park | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,679 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
33 within 15 miles of the center of Riverdale Park
About 3 of every 100 Riverdale Park residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
26.4% of the town is conserved land, across 14 parks and preserves.
4 places in Riverdale Park on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Prince George's County, Maryland, US
Riverdale Park, formerly known and often referred to as Riverdale, is a semi-urban town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, a suburb in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The population was 7,351 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Riverdale Park.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Hyattsville (C−) is closest.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale Park | #250 | D | C− | D | D | C |
| East Riverdale | #240 | C− | C+ | — | D | C− |
| Edmonston | — | — | C | — | D | B+ |
| College Park | – | B− | C+ | — | D | B+ |
| Hyattsville | #242 | C− | C− | D− | D | B+ |
| Greenbelt | #235 | C− | B− | D− | D | B |
| University Park | — | — | C− | B | D | A |
Edmonston and University Park have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. East Riverdale, Edmonston and College Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Riverdale Park with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
It grades C for health, D for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $476,000, 12% above the Maryland typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
2 notable people were born here, including Leon Brown and Stiven Jimenez.
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