City profile · Maryland · Census ACS 2023

Damascus, MD

Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Damascus - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.

16,864
Residents
$153,994
Median income
$496,500
Median home
$2,246
Median rent (state)

Damascus - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Damascus lands in the 95th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

95th
percentile, household income
85th
percentile, home value
87th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Damascus, MD

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 16,864 residents in Damascus, a small town within Maryland. Damascus households earn a median of $153,994 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 1.3%. Damascus's housing stock carries a median value of $496,500, and the median resident age is 40.8 years. About 50.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 72.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

NOAA puts Damascus's yearly average temperature at 54.0°F with 47.9 inches of precipitation per year and 31.4 inches of snowfall.

Maryland carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Maryland at 105.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,246 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $255 across Maryland, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 91.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).

Population

16,864 residents

Census ACS 2023 - Maryland

Median Household Income

$153,994 /yr

Poverty 1.3%

Cost of Living Index (state)

105.0 (US=100)

Above Average - BEA RPP 2024, Maryland average

How does Damascus compare to other US cities?

Damascus measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 95% higher than other cities
Home value 85% pricier than other cities
Median rent 87% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

For each metric we count every US city with population 1,000+ and a non-null value, then compute what share of them fall below Damascus's value: round(cities-below ÷ total × 100). Safety is inverted (percentile = share of cities with a higher crime rate) so a higher number always means safer. The in-state rank narrows that same crime-rate comparison to only the cities PlainCities tracks in Maryland, breaking ties alphabetically. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

95thIncome percentile

95th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Damascus's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$496,500 15th percentile more affordable than 15% of 15,600 US cities

$0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). This entry sits in this band. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Damascus $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Income distribution context

Household income distribution - Damascus, MD Damascus, MD's reported median household income shown against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern (not Damascus, MD-specific quintile data). The Lorenz curve traces the national cumulative income share against cumulative population share, perfect equality is the diagonal; observed inequality bows below. $ Household Income Distribution Damascus, MD median $153,994/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Damascus, MD's median household income (Census ACS 5-year estimate) plotted against the U.S. national income-quintile distribution pattern for context; the quintile shares and Lorenz curve are national figures, not computed specifically for Damascus, MD. Diagonal = perfect equality.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 50.4%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 1.3%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 72.7%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
16,864
Median Income
$153,994
Median Home Value
$496,500
Median Age
40.8
Poverty Rate
1.3%
Labor force participation
72.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
50.4%

Climate

Avg Temperature
54.0°F
Annual Precipitation
47.9"
Annual Snowfall
31.4"

Schools

Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city

Commute Patterns

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
65.1%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
2.6%
Walk
0.2%
Work from Home
24.3%

Based on 9,739 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

State-average estimates for Maryland - EIA 2023 residential energy data

Electricity
$120
avg/month
Natural Gas
$80
avg/month
Water & Sewer
$55
avg/month
Total Utilities
$255
estimated/month

Estimates reflect Maryland state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Cost of living is a Maryland state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Damascus sits in

Cost of Living Index
105.0
Above Average
US average = 100 · BEA RPP 2024
Typical 2-BR Rent
$2,246/mo
HUD Fair Market Rent
County-level FMR estimate
Natural Hazard Risk
91.7 / 100
Very High
FEMA NRI composite score (county)

Similar Cities in Maryland

Aberdeen
16,831 people
Cloverly
16,726 people
Ferndale
17,076 people
Glenmont
16,529 people
Easton
17,202 people
Adelphi
17,210 people

Cities of a Similar Size Nationwide

Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Damascus's 16,864 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).

El Segundo, CA
16,863 people
Live Oak, CA
16,866 people
Milledgeville, GA
16,873 people
Long Beach, MS
16,876 people
New Milford, NJ
16,882 people
Defiance, OH
16,830 people

Cities with a Similar Household Income Nationwide

Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Damascus's $153,994 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).

St. Paul, MO
$154,022 median income
Emerson, NJ
$153,963 median income
Redstone, CO
$154,107 median income
Daufuskie Island, SC
$153,821 median income
Alpine Northeast, WY
$154,181 median income
Issaquah, WA
$153,786 median income

Race & Ethnicity Composition

Race and ethnicity - Damascus, MD Race categories sum to one hundred percent per Census methodology. Hispanic or Latino is shown separately as an ethnicity overlay; it cuts across all race categories per OMB Directive 15. Race & Ethnicity Composition Damascus, MD - Census ACS, OMB race + ethnicity categories RACE, sums to 100% 63.3% 11.0% 8.8% 11.2% ETHNICITY, Hispanic or Latino (any race) 16.0% White 63.3% Black or African American 11.0% Asian 4.9% American Indian 0.9% Native Hawaiian 0.0% Some other race 8.8% Two or more races 11.2% Per OMB Directive 15: Hispanic/Latino ethnicity is reported separately from the race categories.
Race categories sum to 100%. Hispanic or Latino ethnicity is reported separately and cuts across race per Census/OMB methodology.

City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.

How Damascus compares to nearby Maryland cities

Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).

City Population Median Household Income
Damascus (this city) 16,864 $153,994
Aberdeen 16,831 $76,019
Cloverly 16,726 $146,316
Ferndale 17,076 $92,391
Census ACS 5-year FIPS MD NOAA Normals NCES CCD OMB Bulletin 23-01

What do people ask about Damascus, MD?

What is the population of Damascus, MD? +

Damascus, MD has a population of 16,864 according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.

What is the median household income in Damascus, MD? +

The median household income in Damascus is $153,994 per year, based on Census ACS 2023 data.

What is the cost of living in Damascus? +

BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Damascus; the closest available measure is the Maryland state average, a cost of living index of 105.0 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Above Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within Maryland vary by metro area.

What is the median home value in Damascus, MD? +

The median home value in Damascus is $496,500, according to Census ACS 2023 estimates.

What is the climate like in Damascus? +

Climate normals put Damascus's yearly average temperature at 54.0°F, 47.9 inches of precipitation, and 31.4 inches of snowfall per year. Source: NOAA Climate Normals.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

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Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.