These 10 Maryland Cities Ranked As Safest In The State

MARYLAND — Small towns are a refuge for Marylanders worried about crime, with most of the 10 communities named the state's safest cities in 2021 having populations of less than 10,000, according to crime statistics analyzed by SafeWise.

SafeWise, a security product review platform, ranked more than 50 cities in 2021 using recent crime statistics and data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SafeWise also included demographic information and the results of its State of Safety research study.

"Maryland residents have higher levels of concern for violent crime, property crime, package theft, and gun violence than the average American. Still, its safest cities have lower crime rates than the nation as a whole," according to SafeWise.

Its 2021 State of Safety survey found that Marylanders are among the most concerned Americans— with 64 percent of respondents saying they dwell on their safety daily. Overall, this is 17 percentage points higher than the national average of 47 percent.

The rankings are intended to highlight cities with low crime rates and to inspire municipalities to talk about how they can make cities safer, according to the SafeWise website.

Here Are The 10 Safest Cities In Maryland:

1. Ocean Pines
2. Hampstead
3. Glenarden
4. Centreville
5. Mount Airy
6. Berlin
7. Thurmont
8. Taneytown
9. Bowie
10. Havre de Grace

See if your city made the full list.

Although Maryland had higher levels of concern, the state continued the trend of decreasing rates of violent crime and property crime year over year, according to Safewise's report. Violent crime saw a small decrease from 4.7 per 1,000 people to 4.5, and property crime dropped from 20.3 per 1,000 to 19.5.

Within the Mid-Atlantic region, Maryland had the second-highest violent crime rate behind South Carolina (5.1) and the third-lowest property crime rate above West Virginia (15.8) and Virginia (16.4).

As in previous years, Maryland had a higher violent crime rate than the national average while logging a smaller property crime rate overall. Among all 50 states, Maryland has the eleventh-highest violent crime rate and the twentieth-lowest property crime rate.