Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,564, settled in 1897.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scaggsville grades A overall, 43rd among Maryland's 259 graded towns. The median household earns $207K. It is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns and its schools rank ahead of 88% of Maryland towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $668K for a typical one and 6.7 times the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. Scaggsville’s median rent is $3,501 a month, against $1,809 a month in Maryland’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 22 of Maryland’s 329 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, at 694 acres.
Where Scaggsville beats most towns.
28% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Scaggsville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 2016 and 7 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Scaggsville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw19 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw21 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw20 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw19 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw16 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
Scaggsville 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 Scaggsville.
Scaggsville has schools in the top 5% of Maryland and has less tooth loss than most of Maryland, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Maryland.
11 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Scaggsville is 2.1 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is T. Howard Duckett Watershed, at 694 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gorman Stream Valley Natural Resource Area | 5.7 mi | 203 |
| 2. T. Howard Duckett Watershed | 0.8 mi | 694 |
| 3. Hammond Park | 0.8 mi | 43 |
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 D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $669K.
Its public schools are run by the Howard County Public Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammond ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 763 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maryland is tooth loss: 3.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide. Against the 929 U.S. towns with household incomes like Scaggsville’s, it is healthier than 64%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
14% of adults get no exercise outside work in Scaggsville. Scaggsville beats the Maryland average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 6.6% of adults smoke cigarettes in Scaggsville.
| Scaggsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 12% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 33% |
| What stands out | Scaggsville | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 95% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Scaggsville since 2020.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Scaggsville has 634 jobs for its 3,840 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 29.8% of workers work from home, against 19.3% across Maryland.
Most working residents leave Scaggsville for work: only 2% work in town. 30% of Scaggsville workers work from home. Since 2013, Scaggsville has lost 120 jobs, to 634 in 2023.
| Scaggsville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $207,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 30% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Scaggsville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 6.7 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 95% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $7,927, against $4,093 across Maryland, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Scaggsville
About 6 of every 100 Scaggsville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
Where Scaggsville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in Maryland, United States
Scaggsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is situated near the southeastern tip of Howard County, between Laurel and Fulton. The town mainly consists of residences, with some commercial establishments. Scaggsville generally falls within ZIP code 20723, assigned to Laurel, though the town formerly had its own post office. At the 2000 census the Scaggsville area was counted as part of the North Laurel census-designated place.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Scaggsville.
West Laurel next door grades lower for schools (D to Scaggsville’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scaggsville | #43 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Columbia | #36 | A | D | — | A | A |
| North Laurel | #28 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Burtonsville | #38 | A | C | — | B+ | A |
| West Laurel | #167 | B− | C | — | D | A− |
| Fulton | #16 | A+ | D | — | A | A+ |
Scaggsville, Columbia, North Laurel, Burtonsville, West Laurel and Fulton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Scaggsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scaggsville grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #43 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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