These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Maryland

By Chris Kolmar - Oct. 17, 2016

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Maryland. And here they are:

  1. Poolesville
  2. Mount Airy
  3. Walkersville
  4. Hampstead
  5. La Plata
  6. Rockville
  7. Bowie
  8. Bel Air
  9. Chesapeake Beach
  10. Taneytown

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

For more MD reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Maryland

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Poolesville

Source: Flickr

Population: 5,042Median Income: $149,615
Poverty Level: 2.1%
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%

2. Mount Airy

Population: 9,333Median Income: $105,729
Poverty Level: 2.1%
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

3. Walkersville

Population: 5,966Median Income: $95,191
Poverty Level: 2.4%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

4. Hampstead

Population: 6,342Median Income: $81,300
Poverty Level: 4.5%
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%

5. La Plata

Population: 8,903Median Income: $96,771
Poverty Level: 6.5%
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%

6. Rockville

Population: 63,402Median Income: $98,530
Poverty Level: 5.6%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

7. Bowie

Population: 56,335Median Income: $106,396
Poverty Level: 3.6%
Unemployment Rate: 7.7%

8. Bel Air

Population: 10,240Median Income: $67,925
Poverty Level: 5.6%
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

9. Chesapeake Beach

Population: 5,816Median Income: $96,029
Poverty Level: 7.3%
Unemployment Rate: 7.7%

10. Taneytown

Population: 6,738Median Income: $74,740
Poverty Level: 9.8%
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Poolesville and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Maryland

Rank City Median Income Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate
1 Poolesville $149,615 2.1% 4.1%
2 Mount Airy $105,729 2.1% 5.1%
3 Walkersville $95,191 2.4% 4.7%
4 Hampstead $81,300 4.5% 2.8%
5 La Plata $96,771 6.5% 4.0%
6 Rockville $98,530 5.6% 5.3%
7 Bowie $106,396 3.6% 7.7%
8 Bel Air $67,925 5.6% 6.1%
9 Chesapeake Beach $96,029 7.3% 7.7%
10 Taneytown $74,740 9.8% 5.0%
11 Annapolis $75,320 10.1% 5.1%
12 Gaithersburg $78,441 8.0% 6.6%
13 Takoma Park $78,106 7.8% 8.1%
14 Cheverly $89,306 6.8% 10.6%
15 Laurel $68,230 8.4% 7.2%
16 Frederick $65,967 9.4% 7.1%
17 Greenbelt $62,685 9.7% 6.9%
18 Brunswick $62,088 12.6% 6.3%
19 Westminster $55,051 11.6% 5.6%
20 Easton $51,220 11.0% 6.4%
21 District Heights $67,000 6.0% 15.2%
22 Hyattsville $61,806 13.3% 6.8%
23 Fruitland $52,813 19.1% 5.4%
24 Thurmont $67,565 8.4% 12.1%
25 Havre de Grace $65,641 11.8% 8.9%
26 Ocean City $56,458 9.5% 10.3%
27 New Carrollton $59,438 9.1% 12.9%
28 Bladensburg $42,265 12.0% 8.0%
29 Cheste $35,081 30.7% 6.9%
30 Elkton $55,625 11.7% 10.1%
31 Riverdale Park $58,342 14.5% 10.1%
32 Aberdeen $50,327 11.8% 9.9%
33 Mount Rainier $44,902 13.8% 9.5%
34 College Park $56,736 35.5% 10.7%
35 Glenarden $53,981 13.1% 11.6%
36 Salisbury $37,131 32.1% 10.6%
37 Frostburg $27,044 41.9% 11.8%
38 Baltimore $41,819 22.0% 13.9%
39 Hagerstown $38,080 22.8% 13.9%
40 Cumberland $31,750 24.1% 12.9%
41 Cambridge $32,341 25.8% 14.2%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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