Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 36/100
F
Median home value$401,500
Washington $579,900
Median rent$1,764/mo
Washington $2,027/mo
Cost-burdened households34%
Washington 31%
Frederick
Frederick County83,395 residentsFrederick County Public Schools
62
C
Suburbgrade score
34th of 60 Washington suburbs. Strong on amenities and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
62
Washington median 64
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Frederick yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 62 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Frederick is like to live in, by category
Bars show Frederick against Washington. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 76/100
B
Within-state proficiency78th pct
Washington median 78th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.7
Washington median 14.1
Graduation rate92%
Washington median 86%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index82
Washington 100
Eff. tax rate1.20%
Washington 0.85%
Local sales tax6.00%
Washington median 5.77%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 48/100
D+
Mean commute30.0 min
Washington 32.4 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Washington 47%
Transit stops / sq mi1.0
Washington median 6.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 80/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés104
Washington median 87 · within 2 miles
Groceries7
Washington median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks132
Washington median 85 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 57/100
C−
Median household income$97,069
Washington $126,684
Unemployment3.9%
Washington 4.8%
Professional occupations49%
Washington 58%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Frederick yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Frederick on housing & affordability
Frederick's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Clarksburg17 mi from FrederickC+ 64 C+ Leesburg24 mi from FrederickC− 72 B− Germantown20 mi from FrederickD 62 C Gaithersburg23 mi from FrederickD− 64 C+ Ballenger Creek4 mi from FrederickD− 61 C Montgomery Village20 mi from FrederickF 57 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Frederick
Is Frederick, MD a good place to live?
Frederick scores 62 out of 100, 34th of 60 Washington suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Frederick expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $401,500, 31% below the Washington median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.20%. $1,764/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Frederick?
Schools grade B. The districts serving Frederick sit at the 78th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 92% graduation rate and a 14.7 student–teacher ratio. Frederick is served by Frederick County Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Frederick?
The mean commute is 30.0 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 17% working from home. Transit density is 1.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Frederick?
Within two miles there are 7 groceries, 104 restaurants and cafés and 132 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Frederick old or new?
The median home in Frederick was built in 1991 — newer than the Washington median of 1983. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 64% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.