Maryland’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Official FBI crime rates and responses to our latest State of Safety survey paint a worrisome picture of Maryland. Its crime rates have nearly doubled over the last two years, and residents have taken notice. Marylanders worry about violent crime, property crime, and gun violence more than all other Americans, and the percentage of concerned Marylanders has increased year over year.

Fortunately, it's not all doom-and-gloom across the state. This year, Maryland's 10 safest cities report violent crime and property crime rates well below national averages, plus some impressive year-over-year crime rate decreases.

The violent crime rate in Maryland is 9.37 incidents per 1,000 people, which is the highest in the nation and almost double the national average of 4.43. We weren't able to report a statewide violent crime rate last year due to insufficient data, but in our 2024 report, Maryland reported a much lower violent crime rate of 5.3.

Property crime in The Old Line State has also increased in recent years, jumping from 17.4 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 32.2 incidents in this year's report. That's much higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89 and the seventh highest in the nation. 

Despite surging crime rates, Marylanders who took our State of Safety survey report a slight increase in confidence. This year, 44% say they feel safe in the state, which is an improvement over last year's 40%. That's the fourth highest percentage in the nation.

Marylanders reported about the same level of first-hand experiences with property crime and package theft year-over-year, but they're more worried about these crimes than in previous years.

• 55% of survey respondents said they're highly concerned about package theft on a regular basis, up from 50% the year before.
• Package theft is the least worrisome crime for Marylanders (US 44%).
• 41% of the Maryland residents we surveyed said they had experienced a package theft in the 8 months prior to our survey, down from 42% the previous year (US 31%).
• Only three other states reported a higher level of package theft experiences: New York (45%), Pennsylvania (44%), and Oregon (43%).
• Marylanders reported the same level of experience with property crime compared to the previous year—24%. 
• The percentage of Maryland residents concerned about property crime increased from 54% to 63% year over year (US 46%).
• Maryland residents worry about property crime more than all other Americans.
• Marylanders prefer to protect their property with security cameras (48%), security systems (41%) and guard dogs (29%).

Marylanders were significantly more likely to experience violent crime in the 12 months before our survey compared to the previous year. Their concern about violent crime increased during the same time period.

• Concern about violent crime rose by 13 percentage points year over year, with 74% of survey participants saying it's a top worry on a daily basis (US 55%).
• Maryland residents report the highest level of concern about violent crime in the US. 
• Marylanders reported more experiences with violent crime (20%) than the nationwide average (12%), a 9-point increase year over year.
• High levels of concern about and experience with crime doesn't seem to lead to action in Maryland. Just 26% of respondents say they use some form of personal protection.
• Marylanders prefer to protect themselves with pocket knives (50%), pepper spray (46%), and stun guns (27%).

• 73% of respondents named gun violence as a safety concern—the highest in the US, which averages 55% nationwide. (Illinois residents also reported a gun violence concern level of 73%.)
• 19% of Marylanders reported experiencing gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey, a dramatic increase from 9% the previous year. This rocketed Maryland from fifth-lowest to second-highest in one year. 
• There were 10 mass shooting incidents in Maryland in 2024, 3 more than the previous year.
• Marylanders are less likely to carry firearms for personal protection compared to the average American (23% MD, 45% US).

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 35 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Frostburg rose from second place to become this year's safest city in Maryland.
• Most of Maryland's safest cities are suburbs of major metros like Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Ocean City. Frostburg and Mount Airy are notable exceptions.
• Thurmont, Brunswick, and Hampstead maintained their rankings from last year.
• Hampstead saw a nearly 50% decrease in its violent crime rate compared to the year before.
• Frostburg is the only city on this year's list that reported year over year decreases in both its property crime rate and violent crime rate.
• 2 murders were reported in Maryland's safest cities. They occurred in Brunswick and Gaithersburg.
• No rapes were reported in Frostburg, Hampstead, Glenarden, and Mount Airy.
• Frostburg, Ocean Pines, and Thurmont reported no robberies.
• Frostburg was the only city to report no motor vehicle thefts.

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