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

–BerlinNot graded DMount RainierSafer than 9% of U.S. towns

Schools

ABerlinBetter than 88% of districts in the state DMount RainierBetter than 8% of districts in the state

Health

BBerlinHealthier than 58% of U.S. towns BMount RainierHealthier than 57% of U.S. towns

13Berlin

5Mount Rainier

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

Best schoolsSchools · 235 towns #21#224 Highest graduation rateSchools · 258 towns #19#192 Most walkableOutdoors · 261 towns #176#1 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 262 towns #245#92 Lowest depressionHealth · 262 towns #189#47 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 262 towns #112#245 Most remote workersWork · 256 towns #243#118 Shortest commuteGetting around · 262 towns #15#135

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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%

Berlin$2,680/mo

Typical home $440K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.02% · or rent about $1,091/mo · Housing →

Mount Rainier$2,800/mo

Typical home $451K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.17% · or rent about $1,457/mo · Housing →

The difference: $120 a month, about $1,400 a year, between Mount Rainier and Berlin.

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.

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

BerlinMount Rainier

Snow a year8″6″

January low28°F 26°F

July high88°F 88°F

Growing season (days)201d 202d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)14th 85th

Outdoors & history

BerlinMount Rainier

Trails3 mi 0 mi

Conserved land7.5%5.8%

Settled1868 1910

National Register places4 1

Community

BerlinMount Rainier

Library hours a week49 hrs 44 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

103 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BerlinMD Mount RainierMD

Berlin ↔ Mount Rainier103 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

BerlinMount Rainier

People

Population 5,232Lowest 8,245Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +12.1%Highest MD: +7% +3.1%Lowest MD: +7%

Median age 37.6±3.7Lowest 5% below MD 40.1±3.6Highest about the MD average

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

Kids under 18 26.8%±5Highest MD: 22.2% 23.3%±4.9Lowest MD: 22.2%

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

Age 65+ 17.3%±4Highest MD: 16.7% 15.5%±4.1Lowest MD: 16.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 41.9%Highest MD: 43.4% 37.9%Lowest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.6%±2.7 MD: 6.9% 4.6%±2.5 MD: 6.9%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $81,438±$15kHighest 21% below MD $68,505±$5kLowest 34% below MD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $423,500±$59kLowest about the MD average $529,600±$44kHighest 26% above MD

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,091±$240Lowest 36% below MD $1,457±$63Highest 15% below MD

Property taxmedian, yearly $4,331Lowest 6% above MD $6,173Highest 51% above MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 56.3%±13Highest MD: 51.5% 44.2%±9Lowest MD: 51.5%

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

Below poverty line 18.9%Highest MD: 9.4% 6.3%Lowest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 55.6%Highest MD: 67.6% 23.5%Lowest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1989Highest 10 yrs newer than MD 1958Lowest 21 yrs older than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 21 minLowest 32% below MD 32 minHighest about the MD average

Work from home 6.5%±4.2Lowest MD: 19.3% 18.6%±3.8Highest MD: 19.3%

Work in townworking residents 14.1%Highest 1.1%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 miHighest 4.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.33Highest 0.17Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Ocean City (13%)Washington (44%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Mount RainierFew work in Berlin

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 7.5%Highest 5.8%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.5 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 52.2Lowest 228Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #21 of 235 in MD #224 of 235 in MD

School district Worcester County Public SchoolsPrince George's County Public Schools

High school in town Stephen Decatur HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 17.4 —

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.

Berlin neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Berlin’s Town Square.

Mount Rainier neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Rainier’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Berlin

+ Compare

North East4,134 people · $292K homes

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Riverdale Park7,270 people · $476K homes

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Bel Air10,585 people · $318K homes

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North Beach2,296 people · $394K 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.

Berlin vs Mount Rainier

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Berlin places higher on 13 of 19 MD lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

103 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Berlin and Mount Rainier

Towns like Berlin

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