Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 81,462, settled in 1861.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Silver Spring grades A− overall, ranked 76th of 259 in Maryland. It is among the most walkable places in the country. It is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $536K, 4.2 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. Silver Spring’s concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Maryland’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Silver Spring has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them National Park Seminary Historic District and Davis-Warner House.
Where Silver Spring beats most towns.
71,452 counted in 2010 and 81,015 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Silver Spring is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 66,348 in 1960, 81,015 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 5 maps from 1945 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Silver Spring. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw8 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw8 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw8 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearWhite 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 · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Silver Spring is unincorporated, so Montgomery 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 Silver Spring.
Silver Spring sends many workers across the state line to Arlington and is mostly renters.
Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park, at 175 acres with 2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. There are 11 miles of trail across 32 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rock Creek Stream Valley Park | 2.7 mi | 134 |
| 2. Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park | 2 mi | 175 |
| 3. Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park | 1.1 mi | 125 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Montgomery County Public Schools. Three of the 23 schools are below, and why each made the list. 6 public schools serve Silver Spring, with 3,609 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Spring International MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,015 | B+ |
| Yeshiva of Greater Washington Girls Division PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 183 | – |
| Rock Creek Forest ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 690 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
In Silver Spring, 30% of adults have obesity, below both the Maryland town median (36%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). For adults locally, the share who smoke cigarettes is 8.4%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Silver Spring is ahead of Maryland on 12 and behind on 4.
| Silver Spring | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 11% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Silver Spring | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.3% | 25.8% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 7.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.1% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On expected storm and flood damage, Silver Spring sits below 92% of U.S. communities. 16 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1979. Expected losses in Silver Spring break down as 55% from inland flooding and 12% from heat waves. One declared disaster, in 2003, has brought federal aid to Silver Spring households.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Silver Spring home is worth about $536,000, about the same as a year ago, 26% above the Maryland typical home. 38% of households live in a home they own locally. Its typical rent stands at $1,913 a month.
| Silver Spring | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,913 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In July, afternoons reach 87°; in January, nights fall to 26°, and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
30% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations. Silver Spring has about as many jobs (28,224) as working residents, but only 1,934 people both live and work here.
Only 6% of working residents stay in Silver Spring for work; the rest commute out. In Silver Spring, the middle household income is $100,000. The share of workers in Silver Spring who work from home: 27%. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Silver Spring dropped by 2,051, to 28,224.
| Silver Spring | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 18% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
38 within 15 miles of the center of Silver Spring
About 6 of every 100 Silver Spring residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
4 places in Silver Spring on the National Register of Historic Places.
44 notable people were born in Silver Spring.
Unincorporated community in Maryland, United States
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, it is an edge city. As of 2026, the population is around 84,593, making it the 6th most populated city in Maryland. Downtown Silver Spring, located next to the northern tip of Washington, D.C., is the oldest and most urbanized area of Silver Spring, surrounded by several inner suburban residential neighborhoods inside the Capital Beltway. Many mixed-use developments combining retail, residential, and office space have been built since 2004. Silver Spring takes its name from a mica-flecked spring discovered there in 1840 by Fra…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Silver Spring.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Spring | #76 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Chevy Chase | #44 | A | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Takoma Park | #150 | B | C− | D− | B+ | A |
| Four Corners | #11 | A+ | C | — | B+ | A+ |
| South Kensington | #47 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Langley Park | #248 | D | C+ | — | D | D |
| Hillandale | #118 | B+ | C | — | C | B |
| Forest Glen | #7 | A+ | C+ | — | B+ | A |
Silver Spring, Chevy Chase, Four Corners, South Kensington, Langley Park, Hillandale and Forest Glen report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Silver Spring with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Silver Spring grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #76 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and B+ 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−.
44 notable people were born here, including Nora Roberts and Rian Johnson.
