The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Kent County, MD
Kent County is home to 19,300 residents and includes Chestertown and Rock Hall · Updated November 2026
Is Kent County, MD safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Kent County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 72% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime A+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Kent County run from A+ to B+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 913 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
72% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Kent County as a whole, and 28% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Kent County scores 913.
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 Kent County, MD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Kent 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 Kent County
Aggravated assaults run above the US rate. Kent County has less crime than the US as a whole, 17% below the US rate, but more aggravated assaults: 3.5 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Theft runs low. Kent County has 6.3 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 13.1.
The safest and most dangerous places in Kent County
Every part of Kent County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Kent County run from A+ to B+; 69% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Kent 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 north side has the least crime and the Chestertown area the most.
Is crime going up in Kent County?
Reported property crime in Kent County has fallen 16% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 9.6 to 8.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Kent CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Kent County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Kent County
Property, US
2016
+33%
+15%
2017
+1%
+12%
2018
-20%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-28%
-8%
2021
-29%
-10%
2022
-8%
-6%
2023
-10%
-7%
2024
-16%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Kent County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Kent County has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 17% less than the US as a whole and 26% less than 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 Kent County is assault, about 37% 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 Kent County compares with nearby counties
Kent County has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties; only Queen Anne's County and Caroline County have less.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Kent County
Two things set Kent County apart: it has 32% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and 9.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places whose neighborhoods are dark at night tend to report less theft and vandalism, and theft runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 96% 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.32% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 92% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 70% 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 Kent County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.9.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 86% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 80% 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 Kent County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Kent County about $983 a year per household, 18% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $30 million a year, or $1,528 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.8 million
$93
Rape
$390,000
$20
Robbery
$160,000
$8
Assault
$3.1 million
$158
Burglary
$170,000
$9
Theft
$630,000
$32
Vehicle theft
$290,000
$15
Arson
$37,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$73
Total
$7.9 million
$410
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 Kent 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 Kent County, MD average a SchoolGrade of D+: 30% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Kent County on SchoolGrade
