Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMD-MOUNT-RAINIER-MD · Mount Rainier, MD 8,235 pop · income 47th pct
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 Mount Rainier
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mount Rainier on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Castle Shannon · lowest
62,426
Castle Shannon · lowest
62,426 median HH income
32.2% of the leader · rank #1
Mount Rainier · this city
68,281
Mount Rainier · this city
68,281 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #2
Andover · near
68,281
Andover · near
68,281 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #3
Blue Ridge Ma… · near
68,281
Blue Ridge Ma… · near
68,281 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #4
Mount Enterpr… · near
68,281
Mount Enterpr… · near
68,281 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #5
Sun · near
68,284
Sun · near
68,284 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #6
South Kensing… · highest
193,793
South Kensing… · highest
193,793 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 Mount Rainier 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: 8,235.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Mount Rainier - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Mount Rainier lands in the 47th percentile for household income and the 12th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
47th
percentile, household income
86th
percentile, home value
84th
percentile, median rent
12th
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: Mount Rainier, MD
Maryland's Mount Rainier is a small town, with 8,235 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $68,281 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.7%. Mount Rainier's housing stock carries a median value of $522,100, and the median resident age is 40.0 years. 34.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 72.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Mount Rainier's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3414.0 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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). 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. Commute times here average 25.9 minutes, with 55.7% driving alone and 16.8% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 60.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Mount Rainier'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to population change to reported crime to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mount Rainier, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Mount Rainier?
Within Maryland, the closest population matches are Savage (8,284 residents, $117,353 income); Edgewater (8,297 residents, $111,000 income); Mayo (8,322 residents, $146,206 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Castle Shannon, PA (8,237 residents); Rockton, IL (8,238 residents); Mason, MI (8,239 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Mount Rainier?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 55.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 25.9 minutes.
Is Mount Rainier growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.0% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Mount Rainier?
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 3414.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 50% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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 Mount Rainier?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.7%, 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
$68,281
Home value
$522,100
Value / income
7.6×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 3.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
105.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Maryland average
D
City profile score · Mount Rainier, MD
41/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Poverty rate B
3.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B-
34.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$68,281
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Violent crime F
782 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Mount Rainier profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 74/100 (B) · 3.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 66/100 (B-) · 34.7%
Household income: 47/100 (D) · $68,281
Cost of living: 21/100 (F) · 105.0 index
Violent crime: 2/100 (F) · 782 /100k
Where Mount Rainier sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Mount Rainier'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 - Mount Rainier highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Mount Rainier, MD (this city): home $522,100, crime 3,414/100k
Castle Shannon, PA : home $182,400, crime 348/100k
Rockton, IL : home $222,100, crime 891/100k
Mason, MI : home $194,600, crime 937/100k
Orange Beach, AL : home $476,000, crime 2,202/100k
Brunswick, MD : home $348,500, crime 624/100k
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 Mount Rainier compare to other US cities?
Here's how Mount Rainier stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income47% higher than other cities
Home value86% pricier than other cities
Median rent84% pricier than other cities
Safety12% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Maryland, Mount Rainier ranks #53 of 70 Maryland cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Mount Rainier 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 Mount Rainier near the bottom of Maryland's cities
Among the 479 Maryland cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mount Rainier ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mount Rainier only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#361 of 445
19th percentile in Maryland
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 479
0th percentile in Maryland
Median Home Value
#92 of 450
80th percentile in Maryland
Poverty Rate
#239 of 479
49th percentile in Maryland
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#241 of 479
50th 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
47th percentile nationally for median household income · 12th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Mount Rainier's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Mount Rainier'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 Mount Rainier's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$522,10014th percentilemore affordable than 14% 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
Mount Rainier's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,916 of 15,516
More affordable than 4% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,948 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 7.6×, Mount Rainier sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,916 of 15,516 and #10,948 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
$68,281Mount Rainier, MD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mount Rainier, 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 Mount Rainier, MD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)34.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)72.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,235
Median Income
$68,281
Median Home Value
$522,100
Median Age
40.0
Poverty Rate
3.7%
Labor force participation
72.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
34.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3414.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
782.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2631.9
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mount Rainier's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,305 residents
2021
8,225 residents
2022
8,176 residents
2023
8,193 residents
2024
8,267 residents
2025
8,307 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
25.9 minutes
Drive Alone
55.7%
Carpool
4.6%
Public Transit
18.4%
Walk
2.2%
Work from Home
16.8%
Other
2.3%
Based on 4,544 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 Mount Rainier. 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 Mount Rainier 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 Mount Rainier sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mount Rainier 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, 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.