The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Maryland For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Maryland For 2022

Ocean City coming in as the most dangerous place to live in Maryland for 2022 might surprise tourists who come in droves every summer to enjoy the beach and boardwalk.

In fact, Ocean City can safely blame the eight million vacationers who flock to the town annually for the ridiculously high "crime per capita." Still, Ocean City had the highest property crime rate in Maryland by a substantial margin, with residents facing a 1 in 9 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged.

Violent crime isn't much better, with 91 cases recorded in 2020. Maybe if Ocean City didn't have such great things to do, criminals activity would fall off.

Located on the northeastern shore of Maryland, Elkton is known as "The Elopement Capital of the East Coast." It turns out that hasty marriages aren't the only bad decisions going down in Elkton, though, seeing as the town has the second highest crime rate in the state.

You'll want to make sure nobody steals your produce after a trip to the farmer's market, because Elkton experienced 877 larcenies in 2020. Also, lock your car doors here because there was about one car theft per week in Elkton on average.

It's not just property crime in Elkton, either, considering the town also had the fourth highest violent crime rate in Maryland.

Cambridge is a city of 12,264 on the Chesapeake Bay that ranks as Maryland's third most dangerous city overall.

Cambridge had the highest rate of rape cases in the state in 2020, averaging just under one a month. The city also had 2 murders and the third highest violent crime rate overall.

And while you can enjoy a pleasant stroll down Cambridge's mile-long boardwalk, you'd be well-advised to keep an eye on your wallet, seeing as the city had the fourth highest property crime rate statewide.

Ah, Baltimore, the city you were probably expecting to top this list. Well, in terms of violent crime, you'd be right. After all, you don't earn a nickname like Bodymore, Murderland for nothing.

Baltimore had 348 murders in 2020, giving the city the highest murder rate in Maryland. To be fair, though, Baltimore is a big place with plenty of safe neighborhoods.

But even in a place like the Inner Harbor, you'll want to watch your belongings, seeing as Baltimore had 25,748 property crimes in 2020.

That includes more than ten car thefts per day, on average.

Cumberland is known for being the end point of the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile bike trail that goes all the way to Pittsburgh.

Which means you can easily cycle far away from the high crime rates that plague Cumberland. Residents faced a 1 in 22 chance of being the victim of a property crime in 2020, which includes the third highest burglary rate.

The Cumberland Metro area is among the country's poorest in terms of per capita income, which may explain why locals feel the need to resort to crime.

The largest city in Maryland's Eastern Shore region, Salisbury comes in as the state's sixth most dangerous place to call home.

On average, Salisbury had a violent crime six out of seven days of the week over 2020. The city also had the fourth highest rate of rape cases in the state.

There were also 207 burglaries in Salisbury over the year and 1,170 larcenies. That's a lot of homes broken into and pockets picked for a city of just 33,132.

Located just six miles east of Washington DC , Hyattsville is the least violent of the DC suburbs and the least violent place on this list overall.

Don't get us wrong; you still shouldn't stay out late at one of Hyattsville parks all by yourself, considering the city had the third highest murder rate in Maryland.

Not to mention that Hyattsville residents had a 1 in 16 shot of being the victim of a property crime in 2020.

Bladensburg is located just south of Hyattsville, and while it's more violent than its northern neighbor, there's less crime here overall. Still, Bladensburg had 3 murders recorded in 2020.

That might not sound like a lot, but for a city of 9,476, that's enough for the second highest murder rate statewide. And good enough reason not to linger at Waterfront Park once the sun goes down.

With residents facing a 1 in 160 chance of being the victim of violence, Bladensburg is one of DC's most violent suburbs.

The county seat of Charles County, La Plata is the only place on this list that wasn't on it last year. And there are other encouraging signs, like having no murders or rapes in 2020. Overall, the town averaged just under one violent crime per week.

Still, residents had a 1 in 30 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged, which isn't great. And if you don't want to join the 285 larceny victims La Plata had in 2020, watch your valuables while you're out at Port Tobacco River Park.

Located midway between Washington and Baltimore, Laurel doesn't have nearly as much crime as the big cities. Still, a 12th highest place ranking in violent crime and ninth highest place ranking in property crime statewide lands it in the #10 position on this list.

The Laurel Police Department has their work cut out for them, what with 123 violent crimes and 887 property crimes committed in 2020.

There were about one robbery and more than one car theft and burglary each week in Laurel, so you've got pretty good odds of having your stuff stolen here, violently or otherwise.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Maryland FAQs

Is Maryland a dangerous state?

No, Maryland is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #18 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in maryland ranks 23rd highest in the United States -- 3.11% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Old Line State ranks 36th highest in the United States -- 17.79% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Baltimore, MD a dangerous city?

Yes, Baltimore is a dangerous city. Baltimore ranks as the #14 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Baltimore might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Cheswolde Area is the safest in Baltimore, while Hopkins-Middle East is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Baltimore ranks fifth highest in America -- 238.62% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 34th highest in the United States -- 62.33% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.