Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Seat Pleasant earns a D, 243rd among Maryland's 259 graded towns, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 14 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. Its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: natural-hazard risk is low. Seat Pleasant is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Seat Pleasant’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Maryland’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 23 of Maryland’s 328 towns score higher on cost of living.
Where Seat Pleasant beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Seat Pleasant’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 Seat Pleasant is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,553 in 1940, a peak of 7,217 in 1970, 4,522 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Seat Pleasant. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw9 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw9 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw2 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 Seat Pleasant, 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 Seat Pleasant.
Seat Pleasant sends many workers across the state line to Arlington, fares better on crime within Maryland than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
1.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Seat Pleasant Park, at 27 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Goodwin Park | 0.7 mi | 10 |
| 2. Seat Pleasant Park | 0.4 mi | 27 |
| 3. Cabin Branch Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Pleasant ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 284 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
At 56.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 78% of Maryland’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 168 to 102 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 19.5 per 1,000 residents, Seat Pleasant’s property crime rate is above both Maryland’s towns (13.8) and U.S. towns (9.9). The violent crime rate in Seat Pleasant is 3.1 per 1,000 residents. Seat Pleasant reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less.
| Seat Pleasant | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.5 per 1,000 residents | 13.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities. Since 2003, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Seat Pleasant.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
36% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Seat Pleasant for work: only 1% work in town. Seat Pleasant’s average trip to work is 37 minutes. Since 2013, Seat Pleasant has lost 157 jobs, to 720 in 2023.
| Seat Pleasant | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.6% | 3.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,037 U.S. towns with household incomes like Seat Pleasant’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of Seat Pleasant adults have diabetes. Only 8 of the 261 Maryland towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Seat Pleasant. 15% of Seat Pleasant adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Seat Pleasant | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Seat Pleasant | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11% | 14.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.7% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.5 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $315K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Seat Pleasant home is worth about $315,000, down 2.4% in a year, 26% below the Maryland typical home. 52% of households own their home in Seat Pleasant.
| Seat Pleasant | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,391 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Seat Pleasant has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
31 within 15 miles of the center of Seat Pleasant
About 6 of every 100 Seat Pleasant residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
3 notable people were born in Seat Pleasant.
City in Maryland
Seat Pleasant is an incorporated city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located immediately east of Washington, D.C.. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,522. Two state highways pass through the community — Maryland routes 704 (now called Martin Luther King Jr. Highway and previously named George Palmer Highway in honor of banker and community leader George Palmer) and 214 (Central Avenue). The Washington Metro's Blue and Silver Lines are nearby. The Washington Commanders' stadium is east of Seat Pleasant, near the Capital Beltway (I-95/495).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Seat Pleasant.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Walker Mill (C) is closest.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Pleasant | #243 | D | B+ | D | D | C |
| Peppermill Village | #154 | B | B+ | — | D | C+ |
| Maryland Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Summerfield | #200 | C | C | — | D | B− |
| Cedar Heights | — | — | B− | — | D | D |
| Fairmount Heights | — | — | C | — | D | D |
| Walker Mill | #217 | C | B− | — | D | C |
| Largo | #180 | C+ | C | — | D | B |
Cedar Heights and Fairmount Heights have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Peppermill Village, Summerfield, Cedar Heights, Fairmount Heights, Walker Mill and Largo report no FBI crime data of their own. Maryland Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Seat Pleasant with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Seat Pleasant grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #243 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 2.5 years of the area's median household income ($126,684 across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
3 notable people were born here, including Mike Holston and Ron Watson.
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