The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Damascus, MD: Crime Maps and Statistics

B+

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	B+
Property Crime Grade	B-
Other Crime Grade	A-

Which crimes are included?

$4.13 million

Cost of Crime™ for Damascus, MD

In 2025, crime will cost $858 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Damascus with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Damascus, MD Safe?

The B+ overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Damascus's combined rate is lower than the norm. Damascus sits in the 75th percentile, ahead of 75% of cities and behind 25%. The grade covers only Damascus's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Damascus is 16.67 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the central part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 28 in the northeast neighborhoods to 1 in 85 in the central.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the northeast parts of Damascus, MD report the most crime, about 54 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 4 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Damascus, MD

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Damascus for 2025 is $4,130,860, about $305 per resident and $858 per household. That equals 0.5% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 50.4%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 38.0%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.6%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Damascus Compared to Other Cities?

Damascus, MD:	$305
Seat Pleasant, MD:	$1315
Cape St. Claire, MD:	$184
Maryland:	$531
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Damascus is $305 per year, which is $160 less than the national average and $227 less than Maryland's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Damascus:

In Seat Pleasant, MD, crime costs $1,315 per person, which is $1,011 more than in Damascus.
In Cape St. Claire, MD, crime costs $184 per person, which is $121 less than in Damascus

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Damascus for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Damascus	Cost per Damascus Resident
Murder	$1.74 million	$128
Rape/Sexual Assault	$272,019	$20
Robbery	$274,987	$20
Assault	$365,502	$27
Kidnapping	$10,978	$1
Vehicle Theft	$336,587	$25
Burglary	$174,756	$13
Theft	$522,756	$39
Arson	$28,933	$2
Vandalism	$219,734	$16
Animal Cruelty	$2,136	$0
Drug Crimes	$115,081	$8
Identity Theft	$71,596	$5
Total Cost of Crime	$4,130,860	$305

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Damascus, MD

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Damascus totals $13,035,157 ($961 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $17,166,016 ($1,266 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The east part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas do the same, and of Damascus's 13,559 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Damascus, MD at ISP Reports.

Damascus Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Damascus residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	0.9386
Robbery	0.6448
Rape	0.3309
Murder	0.0681
Total Violent Crime	1.982 (B+)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	7.444
Vehicle Theft	1.603
Burglary	1.421
Arson	0.0884
Total Property Crime	10.56 (B-)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0134
Drug Crimes	1.147
Vandalism	2.268
Identity Theft	0.6822
Animal Cruelty	0.0213
Total "Other" Rate	4.133 (A-)

Individual Damascus Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Damascus is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Damascus.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Clarksburg, MD	A	A	A
Laytonsville, MD	B-	B-	B
Monrovia, MD	A-	A	A+
Ijamsville, MD	B	A-	A
Montgomery Village, MD	B+	B	B-
Boyds, MD	A-	A	B
Germantown, MD	B-	B-	C+
Mount Airy, MD	B-	B	B-
Urbana, MD	C+	A	B
Gaithersburg, MD	B-	B-	C

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Damascus is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Mulberry, FL	A	A-	A-
Ocean Pines, MD	A-	B-	B-
Oatfield, OR	D	C	C
Oakland, NJ	A	A+	A+
Northlake, IL	C+	B	B
North Valley Stream, NY	B-	C	C
North Branch, MN	A-	B+	B+
North Bend, OR	D-	D+	D+
North Auburn, CA	C	C-	C-
Newport, MI	A-	B-	B-

Considering only the crime rate, Damascus is safer than the Maryland state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Damascus, MD average SchoolGrade of B-, with 42% actual proficiency versus 47% projected; overall, schools underperform expectations. See Damascus schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.