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%

Ashton-Sandy Spring$4,810/mo

Typical home $809K (Census) · tax rate 0.84% · or rent about $1,369/mo · Housing →

Poolesville$4,270/mo

Typical home $722K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.80% · or rent about $1,831/mo · Housing →

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,400 a year, between Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville.

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.

Report cards

Poolesville places higher on 9 of 19 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.

Schools

B+Ashton-Sandy SpringBetter than 72% of districts in the state B+PoolesvilleBetter than 72% of districts in the state

Health

A+Ashton-Sandy SpringHealthier than 95% of U.S. towns A+PoolesvilleHealthier than 97% of U.S. towns

8Ashton-Sandy Spring

9Poolesville

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Fastest growingGrowth · 250 towns #199#49 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 262 towns #165#53 Cheapest rentCost of living · 252 towns #44#134 Lowest depressionHealth · 262 towns #83#127 Most trailsOutdoors · 190 towns #96#122 Most walkableOutdoors · 261 towns #254#222 Shortest commuteGetting around · 262 towns #203#232 Most activeHealth · 262 towns #39#11

Left end = #1 in Maryland. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Ashton-Sandy Spring’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

Ashton-Sandy SpringPoolesville

Snow a year16″33″

January low25°F —

July high87°F —

Growing season (days)202d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)3rd 10th

Outdoors & history

Ashton-Sandy SpringPoolesville

Trails8 mi 2 mi

Conserved land23.7%18.2%

Settled—1760

National Register places2 5

Archive photos—12

Community

Ashton-Sandy SpringPoolesville

Library hours a week—46 hrs

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

22 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Ashton-Sandy SpringPoolesville

Ashton-Sandy Spring ↔ Poolesville22 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

Ashton-Sandy SpringPoolesville

People

Population 5,630Lowest 5,764Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.1%Lowest MD: +7% +17.6%Highest MD: +7%

Median age 48.6±3.2Highest 23% above MD 41.9±11.5Lowest 6% above MD

Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 22.6%±4.2 MD: 22.2% 22.6%±5.6 MD: 22.2%

Age 65+ 27.9%±5.9Highest MD: 16.7% 16.2%±5.6Lowest MD: 16.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 66.1%Highest MD: 43.4% 63.7%Lowest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.7%±2.7Highest MD: 6.9% 2.5%±1.5Lowest MD: 6.9%

Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $174,063±$34kLowest 68% above MD $205,919±$41kHighest 99% above MD

Poolesville and Ashton-Sandy Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $809,200±$90kHighest 93% above MD $752,300±$71kLowest 79% above MD

Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,369±$143Lowest 20% below MD $1,831±$689Highest 7% above MD

Poolesville and Ashton-Sandy Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $6,759Highest 65% above MD $6,056Lowest 48% above MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 27.4%±38.7Lowest MD: 51.5% 75.6%±46.5Highest MD: 51.5%

Poolesville and Ashton-Sandy Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 1.8%Lowest MD: 9.4% 2.8%Highest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 94%Lowest MD: 67.6% 95%Highest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1986 7 yrs newer than MD 1986 7 yrs newer than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 36 minLowest 16% above MD 38 minHighest 23% above MD

Work from home 39.2%±8.7Highest MD: 19.3% 36.2%±10.4Lowest MD: 19.3%

Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 4.3%Lowest 5.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 miLowest 17.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.86Highest 0.27Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Washington (11%)Rockville (10%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PoolesvilleFew work in Ashton-Sandy Spring

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 23.7%Highest 18.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.5 miHighest 2.1 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.6 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 7Lowest 13Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 16.3Lowest 35.7Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #8 of 235 in MD #2 of 235 in MD

School district Montgomery County Public SchoolsMontgomery County Public Schools

High school in town Sherwood HighPoolesville High

Students per teacherat that high school 16.3Lowest 20.3Highest

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.

Ashton-Sandy Spring neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ashton-Sandy Spring’s Town Square.

Poolesville neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Poolesville’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Ashton-Sandy Spring

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Olney35,797 people · $657K homes

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Spencerville1,028 people · $627K homes

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Burtonsville10,203 people · $489K homes

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Cloverly16,646 people · $665K homes

Towns like Ashton-Sandy Spring

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Middletown5,014 people · $555K homes

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Chesapeake Beach6,456 people · $445K homes

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Mount Airy9,805 people · $487K 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.

Ashton-Sandy Spring vs Poolesville

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Ashton-Sandy Spring

Poolesville places higher on 9 of 19 MD lists

What daily life feels like in each

22 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Ashton-Sandy Spring and Poolesville

Bordering Ashton-Sandy Spring

Towns like Ashton-Sandy Spring

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