The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Wicomico County, MD
Wicomico County is home to 104,900 residents and includes Salisbury and Fruitland · Updated November 2026
Is Wicomico County, MD safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Wicomico County is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Wicomico County sits near the middle: 49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Wicomico County run from A+ to D+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 832 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Wicomico County as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Wicomico County scores 832.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Wicomico County, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Wicomico County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Wicomico County
Robbery stands out among A-graded counties. For the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 0.19 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Wicomico County has 0.59.
Vehicle theft runs low. Wicomico County has 1.2 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.7.
The safest and most dangerous places in Wicomico County
Low crime is the norm across Wicomico County: 88% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Wicomico County run from A+ to D+; 58% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
88%
A or B 88%C 9%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Wicomico County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Wicomico County?
Reported violent crime in Wicomico County peaked in 2021 and has fallen 24% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 28% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.1 to 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 23 to 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Wicomico CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Wicomico County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Wicomico County
Violent, US
Property, Wicomico County
Property, US
2016
+20%
+4%
+27%
+15%
2017
+21%
+4%
+27%
+12%
2018
+7%
+0%
+14%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+17%
+4%
-29%
-8%
2021
+37%
+6%
-36%
-10%
2022
+19%
+5%
-37%
-6%
2023
+28%
+2%
-30%
-7%
2024
+4%
-4%
-28%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Wicomico County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Wicomico County has about 37 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to Maryland.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
The largest share of crime reported in Wicomico County is assault, about 46% of the total. It also makes up the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Wicomico County compares with nearby counties
Wicomico County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Caroline County and Calvert County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Wicomico County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Wicomico County has more crime than 73% of them.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Wicomico County
Wicomico County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 79% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.65% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 74% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 76% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 56% of Americans
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Wicomico County: F (2 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 71% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 58% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.42 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 56% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Wicomico County
Crime costs Wicomico County about $1,129 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 6% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $45 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $144 million a year, or $1,377 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$7.8 million
$74
Rape
$1.4 million
$14
Robbery
$1.9 million
$18
Assault
$20 million
$195
Burglary
$2.1 million
$20
Theft
$6.0 million
$57
Vehicle theft
$1.9 million
$18
Arson
$180,000
$2
Vandalism
$3.5 million
$33
Total
$45 million
$431
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Wicomico County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Wicomico County, MD average a SchoolGrade of C-: 31% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Wicomico County on SchoolGrade
