A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Annapolis$3,800/mo

Typical home $625K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.01% · or rent about $1,860/mo · Housing →

Potomac$8,060/mo

Typical home $1.35M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.86%+ · or rent about $2,887/mo · Housing →

The difference: $4,260 a month, about $51,100 a year, between Potomac and Annapolis.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Report cards

Potomac places higher on 14 of 21 MD lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Maryland ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

DAnnapolisSafer than 11% of U.S. towns –PotomacNot graded

Schools

BAnnapolisBetter than 56% of districts in the state B+PotomacBetter than 72% of districts in the state

Health

A−AnnapolisHealthier than 83% of U.S. towns A+PotomacHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

6Annapolis

14Potomac

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Best schoolsSchools · 235 towns #189#5 Most conserved landOutdoors · 260 towns #204#32 Most walkableOutdoors · 261 towns #26#178 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 262 towns #149#1 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 262 towns #180#37 Most trailsOutdoors · 190 towns #124#26 Highest incomeIncome · 262 towns #126#4 Lowest obesityHealth · 262 towns #108#2

Left end = #1 in Maryland. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Annapolis’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AnnapolisPotomac

Snow a year19″6″

January low25°F 26°F

July high89°F 88°F

Growing season (days)204d 202d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)1st 8th

Outdoors & history

AnnapolisPotomac

Trails4 mi 53 mi

Conserved land3.9%20.2%

Settled1649 —

National Register places24 3

Archive photos12 12

Famous people born here56 21

Community

AnnapolisPotomac

Library hours a week57 hrs 61 hrs

Colleges in town2 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

37 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AnnapolisMD PotomacMD

Annapolis ↔ Potomac37 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Maryland average

AnnapolisPotomac

People

Population 40,720Lowest 45,902Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.3%Highest MD: +7% +4.6%Lowest MD: +7%

Median age 43±2Lowest 9% above MD 47.4±1.1Highest 20% above MD

Kids under 18 20.3%±2.2Lowest MD: 22.2% 23.3%±1.5Highest MD: 22.2%

Potomac and Annapolis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 20.4%±1.8Lowest MD: 16.7% 24.2%±1.2Highest MD: 16.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 53.8%Lowest MD: 43.4% 84.9%Highest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5%±0.8Lowest MD: 6.9% 5.2%±1Highest MD: 6.9%

Potomac and Annapolis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $113,860±$6kLowest 10% above MD $236,675±$16kHighest 128% above MD

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $548,900±$33kLowest 31% above MD $1,157,000±$21kHighest 176% above MD

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,860±$109Lowest 9% above MD $2,887±$342Highest 69% above MD

Property taxmedian, yearly $5,523Lowest 35% above MD $10,000+Highest at least 144% above MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 48.9%±6.2Highest MD: 51.5% 46.1%±8.8Lowest MD: 51.5%

Annapolis and Potomac are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 7.8%Highest MD: 9.4% 3.9%Lowest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 62%Lowest MD: 67.6% 84.8%Highest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Lowest 4 yrs older than MD 1977Highest 2 yrs older than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 30 minLowest 5% below MD 30 minHighest 5% below MD

Work from home 21%±2.4Lowest MD: 19.3% 38.3%±3.3Highest MD: 19.3%

Work in townworking residents 18.8%Highest 7.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.3 miHighest 10.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.56Highest 1.54Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Parole (12%)Washington (18%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PotomacFew work in Annapolis

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.9%Lowest 20.2%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 4.3 miLowest 52.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miLowest 2.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 6Lowest 28Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 131Highest 52.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #189 of 235 in MD #5 of 235 in MD

School district Anne Arundel County Public SchoolsMontgomery County Public Schools

High school in town Phoenix AcademyWinston Churchill High

Students per teacherat that high school 1.7Lowest 18.3Highest

Maryland average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Annapolis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Annapolis’s Town Square.

Potomac neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Potomac’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Annapolis and Potomac

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Annapolis

+ Compare

Annapolis Neck12,032 people · $739K homes

+ Compare

Parole17,229 people · $534K homes

+ Compare

Naval Academy3,006 people

Towns like Annapolis

+ Compare

Gaithersburg69,825 people · $497K homes

+ Compare

Takoma Park17,632 people · $749K homes

+ Compare

Rockville67,671 people · $682K homes

+ Compare

Frederick83,395 people · $402K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Annapolis vs Potomac

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $4,260 more a month in Potomac

Potomac places higher on 14 of 21 MD lists

What daily life feels like in each

37 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Annapolis and Potomac

Bordering Annapolis

Towns like Annapolis

Post to Annapolis

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