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Place dossier plate
SheetMD-CHESTERTOWN-MD · Chestertown, MD 5,548 pop · income 15th pct · 6 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Chestertown
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Chestertown on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Dunlap · lowest
38,666
Dunlap · lowest
38,666 median HH income
17.8% of the leader · rank #1
Cass Lake · near
47,045
Cass Lake · near
47,045 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #2
San Saba · near
47,045
San Saba · near
47,045 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #3
Chestertown · this city
47,047
Chestertown · this city
47,047 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #4
Carmi · near
47,051
Carmi · near
47,051 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #5
Pymatuning So… · near
47,054
Pymatuning So… · near
47,054 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #6
Poolesville · highest
216,653
Poolesville · highest
216,653 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Chestertown on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 5,548.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Chestertown - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Chestertown lands in the 15th percentile for household income and the 30th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
15th
percentile, household income
70th
percentile, home value
84th
percentile, median rent
30th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Chestertown, MD
Maryland's Chestertown is a small town, with 5,548 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Chestertown report a median income of $47,047 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 15.2%. Typical homes in Chestertown are valued around $333,900, and the median resident age is 32.3 years. Educational attainment runs 45.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 47.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 4 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2083.3 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Chestertown's yearly average temperature at 56.0°F with 46.0 inches of precipitation per year and 16.7 inches of snowfall.
Maryland carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 105.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,657 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Maryland run around $255, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 60.2 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Chestertown's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime to within-city variation to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Chestertown, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Chestertown?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 56.0°F, with 46.0 inches of precipitation and 16.7 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Maryland is 60.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Which cities make useful reference points for Chestertown?
Within Maryland, the closest population matches are Manchester (5,446 residents, $112,679 income); Ashton-Sandy Spring (5,418 residents, $178,214 income); Fruitland (5,698 residents, $64,352 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Fort Myers Beach, FL (5,548 residents); La Habra Heights, CA (5,546 residents); Dunlap, TN (5,546 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Is Chestertown growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +142 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can 6 Census tracts reveal inside Chestertown?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Chestertown?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$47,047
Home value
$333,900
Value / income
7.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Chestertown?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2083.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 9% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1851.9
Violent rate
231.5
Total reported rate
2083.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Chestertown?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 45.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
45.1%
Poverty estimate
15.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Chestertown?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 57.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
11.1%
Drive alone
57.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,217 workers age 16+.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A-
45.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime D
232 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
15.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
105.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$47,047
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Chestertown profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.1%
Violent crime: 43/100 (D) · 232 /100k
Poverty rate: 22/100 (F) · 15.2%
Cost of living: 21/100 (F) · 105.0 index
Household income: 16/100 (F) · $47,047
Where Chestertown sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Chestertown's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Chestertown highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Chestertown, MD (this city): home $333,900, crime 2,083/100k
La Habra Heights, CA : home $1,114,100, crime 853/100k
Dunlap, TN : home $148,300, crime 1,208/100k
Anamosa, IA : home $164,900, crime 674/100k
Manchester, MD : home $351,500, crime 287/100k
Fruitland, MD : home $211,200, crime 2,389/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Chestertown compare to other US cities?
Chestertown measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income15% higher than other cities
Home value70% pricier than other cities
Median rent84% pricier than other cities
Safety30% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Maryland and the picture shifts: Chestertown ranks #36 of 70 Maryland cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Chestertown against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Maryland only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Maryland-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Chestertown near the bottom of Maryland's cities
Among the 479 Maryland cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Chestertown ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Chestertown only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#424 of 445
5th percentile in Maryland
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 479
0th percentile in Maryland
Median Home Value
#264 of 450
41st percentile in Maryland
Poverty Rate
#62 of 479
87th percentile in Maryland
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#140 of 479
71st percentile in Maryland
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Maryland only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
15th percentile nationally for median household income · 30th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Chestertown's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Chestertown's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Chestertown's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$333,90030th percentilemore affordable than 30% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Chestertown's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,715 of 15,516
More affordable than 5% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,824 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 7.1×, Chestertown sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,715 of 15,516 and #10,824 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$47,047Chestertown, MD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Chestertown, MD median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Chestertown, MD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,548
Median Income
$47,047
Median Home Value
$333,900
Median Age
32.3
Poverty Rate
15.2%
Labor force participation
47.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2083.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
231.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1851.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
56.0°F
Annual Precipitation
46.0"
Annual Snowfall
16.7"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Chestertown's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,516 residents
2021
5,522 residents
2022
5,567 residents
2023
5,622 residents
2024
5,668 residents
2025
5,658 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.4M
2020
13
5
8
$2.5M
2021
10
4
6
$2.7M
2022
35
31
4
$6.2M
2023
31
31
0
$9.3M
2024
4
4
0
$1.5M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
57.1%
Carpool
7.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
22.6%
Work from Home
11.1%
Other
2.1%
Based on 2,217 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Maryland statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $255
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Maryland at $255 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Maryland statewide averages, not a meter reading for Chestertown. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Maryland's BEA cost-of-living index is 105.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Chestertown is $1,657/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Maryland statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 60.2 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Maryland statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Chestertown sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Chestertown compares to similar-size Maryland cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.