Essex is an unincorporated community of 43,100 in Baltimore County, about 9 miles east of downtown Baltimore · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Essex?
Essex grades D+ for property crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Theft makes up 50% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades D+.
D+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 303 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Essex as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Essex scores 303.
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 property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least 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 Essex, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Essex, 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 about property crime in Essex
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Essex, each runs at more than double the US rate: 6.3 car thefts and 14.5 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Essex
Property crime varies widely across Essex: 24% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 67% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Essex run from A to F.
24%67%
A or B 24%C 9%D or F 67%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Essex
CrimeGrade™ estimates Essex has about 48 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 72% more than Maryland.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Essex, about 50% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. 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.
Property crime in Essex and nearby cities
Essex has more property crime than 7 of its 9 nearest cities. Bowleys Quarters and Edgemere have the least property crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Essex apart: it has 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 10 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Essex: D+ (23 of 100).10 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 85% of US city residents
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+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 57% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.42% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 76% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Essex on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 property crime costs Essex
Property crime costs Essex about $15 million a year, or $353 per resident and about $876 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$920,000
$21
Theft
$5.3 million
$123
Vehicle theft
$4.2 million
$97
Arson
$360,000
$8
Vandalism
$4.4 million
$103
Total
$15 million
$353
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
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.
