Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,239, settled in 1822.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Savage grades A overall, ranked 61st of 259 in Maryland. Natural-hazard risk is low. Its schools rank ahead of 88% of Maryland towns and the median household earns $117K. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $580K, 5.8 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. Savage’s trail density is 3.6 miles per square mile, above both the Maryland town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 11 of Maryland’s 329 towns do better. Savage has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge and Savage Mill Historic District.
Where Savage beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bollman Bridge Elementary | PK–5 | 775 |
| Bethel Christian Academy | PK–8 | 252 |
| Patuxent Valley Middle | 6–8 | 840 |
Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Savage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Savage. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw23 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw22 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw21 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 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 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Savage is unincorporated, so Howard County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Savage.
Savage has schools in the top 5% of Maryland, owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Maryland.
9.6 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Savage Park, at 281 acres with 8.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Savage Park | 8.1 mi | 281 |
| 2. Guilford Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Collins Property | 0.2 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A ranks #12 of the 261 Maryland towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $580K.
Its public schools are run by the Howard County Public Schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patuxent Valley MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 840 | B |
| Guilford Park HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,218 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 99% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,174 U.S. towns with household incomes like Savage’s, it is healthier than 71%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Savage beats the Maryland average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults get no exercise outside work in Savage, where Maryland’s towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 25%. 11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Savage.
| Savage | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Savage | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.5% | 5.8% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.6% | 5.9% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.3% | 76.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median rent in Savage is $2,053 a month. The typical Savage home is worth about $580,000, up 1.2% in a year, 36% above the Maryland typical home. 59% of Savage households own their home.
| Savage | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,053 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 74% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 3,213 working residents takes 24.2 minutes, against 31.1 across Maryland.
Most working residents leave Savage for work: only 1% work in town. Savage’s average trip to work is 24 minutes. Jobs based in Savage fell to 1,009 in 2023, 73 fewer than in 2013.
| Savage | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 3.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 8% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (40% statewide). 52% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across Maryland.
| Savage | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 7.9% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 42% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.9 points). Across Maryland, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 71% are men (MD 50%).
| Savage | MD | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.7% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.2% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 22% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.3% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.6% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.4% | 8.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.1% | 23.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.1% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 2.6% | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.8% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 24.9% | 20.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Savage has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 25° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
11 within 15 miles of the center of Savage
About 5 of every 100 Savage residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
17.1% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
4 places in Savage on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Savage is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Howard County, Maryland, United States, approximately 18 miles (29 km) south of Baltimore and 21 miles (34 km) north of Washington, D.C. It is situated close to the city of Laurel and to the planned community of Columbia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,542. The former mill town is a registered historic place, and has several original buildings preserved within and around the Savage Mill Historic District.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Savage.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savage | #61 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| North Laurel | #28 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Columbia | #36 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Jessup | #139 | B | D | — | B+ | B |
Savage, North Laurel, Columbia and Jessup report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Savage with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Savage grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #61 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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