Maryland is home to 6.21 million residents; Annapolis is its capital and Baltimore its largest city · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Maryland?
Maryland ranks 50th safest of the 50 states and Washington, DC for violent crime, with a CrimeGrade™ of B+. Assaults make up 88% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 720 of 1,00050th safest of the 50 states and DCi What this means
28% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Maryland as a whole, and 72% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Maryland scores 720.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Maryland at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Maryland, 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 violent crime in Maryland
Robbery at about double the US rate. Maryland has 1.2 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Maryland
Low violent crime is the norm across Maryland: 79% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 14% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Maryland run from A+ to F.
79%14%
A or B 79%C 7%D or F 14%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
All 24 counties, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Cities of 10,000 or more residents, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Is violent crime going up in Maryland?
Reported violent crime in Maryland has held about steady since 2019, within 7%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.5 to 4.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
MarylandUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Maryland. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Maryland
Violent, US
2016
+6%
+4%
2017
+11%
+4%
2018
+3%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-12%
+4%
2021
-6%
+6%
2022
-5%
+5%
2023
-2%
+2%
2024
-7%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Maryland
CrimeGrade™ estimates Maryland has about 14 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Maryland, about 88% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 46% of the cost of violent crime here.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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.
Where and when violent crime happens in Maryland
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Maryland, 2022 to 2024.
In Maryland, 50% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 40% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for theft from cars.
Violent crime in Maryland and nearby states
Maryland has more violent crime than 7 of its 8 nearest states. West Virginia and Connecticut have the least violent crime nearby.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Maryland apart: it has 11 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Maryland: D (14 of 100).11 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 91% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.29% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 71% of Americans
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Maryland on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more. Its Walk Grade for Maryland is D+ (20 of 100).
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 violent crime costs Maryland
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Maryland about $9.99 billion a year, or $1,610 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $2.08 billion, or $335 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 79% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$834 million
$134
Rape
$124 million
$20
Robbery
$241 million
$39
Assault
$879 million
$142
Total
$2.08 billion
$335
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
