Maryland’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Maryland is the eighth-most concerned state when it comes to violent crime in general and gun violence, specifically. That level of worry makes sense with a statewide violent crime rate that's 34% higher than the nationwide rate. The Old Line State fares better, though, when it comes to property crime. Maryland's property crime rate is 16% below the nationwide rate.

Maryland's violent crime rate of 5.3 incidents per 1,000 people is the eighth-highest in the US, exceeding the national violent crime rate of 4.0. 

When it comes to property crime, Maryland has a great track record. The number of property crimes per capita has been consistently below the national property crime rate. Maryland reports three fewer crimes per capita than the greater US—17.4 incidents per 1,000 versus 20.7 nationwide.

Maryland's property crime rates are below the national average, and residents are 2% less concerned about it than they were the year before. The Old Line State has the sixteenth-lowest property crime rate in the US.

• Around 1 in 2 survey respondents (49%). said they're highly concerned about property crime on a regular basis. that's 5% lower than the national average of 52%.
• Marylanders reported more experiences with property crime than the previous year—up from 21% to 26%.
• Concern about package theft went down year over year, with 52% of survey respondents saying they worry that it will happen to them.
• Statewide, 33% of the Marylanders we talked to said they had a package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to 35% nationwide. That's an 11% decrease from the previous year.
• 73% of survey participants use some form of property protection (75% US).
• Security cameras are the most popular type of property protection used in Maryland (35%), with security systems next in line (34%).
• 31% of Maryland respondents say they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%). That's the lowest-reported level in the country.

Maryland historically sees higher violent crime rates than most of the US, which may contribute to residents feeling less safe in The Old Line State. Just 32% of survey respondents said they feel safe in Maryland, the ninth-lowest level of confidence in the US, where 45% of all Americans surveyed said they feel safe in their state.

• Maryland's violent crime rate of 5.3 incidents per 1,000 is 34% higher than the nationwide rate of 4.0.
• Concern about violent crime rose 13% year over year, with 6 in 10 survey participants saying it's a top worry on a daily basis. That's the eighth-highest level of concern for violent crime in the US.
• Marylanders reported more experiences with violent crime (17%) than the nationwide average (15%), but that's a 6% decline year over year.
• High concern and higher-than-average experience with violent crime doesn’t seem to lead to action in Maryland. Just 23% of respondents say they use some form of personal protection versus 36% nationwide.
• Pocket knives are the top form of personal protection used (57%), followed by pepper spray and keychain weapons, with 48% each.

• 63% of respondents named gun violence as a safety concern—the eighth-highest in the US, which averages 51%.
• 15% of Marylanders reported experiencing gun violence in the past 12 months, which is a 15% increase year over year, and the fourteenth-highest in the US.
• There were 22 mass shooting incidents in Maryland in 2023, 3 more than the previous year.
• Just 4% of Marylanders report using a concealed carry firearm for self-defense, and 14% use a firearm to protect their property. Across the US, 28% of Americans report using a firearm for property protection and 42% use them for self-defense.

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.

• 8 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Bowie is the safest city in Maryland, with no murders or rapes reported.
• Westminster also reported zero murders.
• 3 cities reported fewer than 40 burglaries: Bowie, Easton, and Westminster.
• Hagerstown's violent crime rate and its property crime rate went down year over year.
• Frederick is the most populous city on the list, with over 80,000 residents, making it's below-average crime rates even more impressive.
• The collective violent crime rate of the safest cities is 3.6 incidents per 1,000—33% below the statewide rate.
• The collective property crime rate of the safety cities is 16.0 incidents per 1,000—8% below the statewide rate. 

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Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.