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

DCambridgeSafer than 6% of U.S. towns DAberdeenSafer than 14% of U.S. towns

Schools

DCambridgeBetter than 12% of districts in the state BAberdeenBetter than 64% of districts in the state

Health

DCambridgeHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns C−AberdeenHealthier than 25% of U.S. towns

7Cambridge

15Aberdeen

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most new homesHousing · 34 towns #27#3 Most conserved landOutdoors · 260 towns #111#238 Most walkableOutdoors · 261 towns #211#88 Highest graduation rateSchools · 258 towns #190#76 Lowest depressionHealth · 262 towns #127#217 Best schoolsSchools · 235 towns #180#113 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 92 towns #85#65 Lowest obesityHealth · 262 towns #245#192

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $550 more a month in Aberdeen

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%

Cambridge$1,590/mo

Typical home $262K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.01% · or rent about $1,058/mo · Housing →

Aberdeen$2,140/mo

Typical home $345K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.14% · or rent about $1,363/mo · Housing →

The difference: $550 a month, about $6,600 a year, between Aberdeen and Cambridge.

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

CambridgeAberdeen

Snow a year14″17″

January low29°F 27°F

July high88°F 87°F

Growing season (days)220d 217d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)13th 6th

Outdoors & history

CambridgeAberdeen

Trails8 mi 1 mi

Conserved land10.4%2.1%

Settled1793 1892

National Register places11 5

Archive photos10 —

Famous people born here23 —

Community

CambridgeAberdeen

Library hours a week42 hrs 51 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

67 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CambridgeMD AberdeenMD

Cambridge ↔ Aberdeen67 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

CambridgeAberdeen

People

Population 13,152Lowest 17,298Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.2%Lowest MD: +7% +8.7%Highest MD: +7%

Median age 39.4±2.2Highest about the MD average 38.8±2.3Lowest about the MD average

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

Kids under 18 21.7%±2.8Highest MD: 22.2% 21.6%±2.7Lowest MD: 22.2%

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

Age 65+ 21.1%±2.5Highest MD: 16.7% 16.9%±2.3Lowest MD: 16.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 20.1%Lowest MD: 43.4% 25.6%Highest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.1%±1.6Lowest MD: 6.9% 6.1%±1.8Highest MD: 6.9%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $47,323±$8kLowest 54% below MD $74,826±$9kHighest 28% below MD

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $257,900±$19kLowest 39% below MD $261,400±$22kHighest 38% below MD

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,058±$93Lowest 38% below MD $1,363±$78Highest 20% below MD

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,617Lowest 36% below MD $2,978Highest 27% below MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 63.2%±9.4Highest MD: 51.5% 55.1%±10.8Lowest MD: 51.5%

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

Below poverty line 26.4%Highest MD: 9.4% 14.3%Lowest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 41.1%Lowest MD: 67.6% 62.1%Highest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1970Lowest 9 yrs older than MD 1977Highest 2 yrs older than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minLowest 24% below MD 28 minHighest 12% below MD

Work from home 6.9%±2.8Lowest MD: 19.3% 8.4%±2.3Highest MD: 19.3%

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

Work in townworking residents 25.6%Highest 8.8%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 19.8 miLowest 20.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.12Highest 1.02Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Easton (10%)Baltimore (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AberdeenFew work in Cambridge

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 10.4%Highest 2.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 7.7 miHighest 0.9 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 10Highest 8Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 38.7Lowest 79.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #180 of 235 in MD #113 of 235 in MD

School district Dorchester County Public SchoolsHarford County Public Schools

High school in town Cambridge-South Dorchester High SchoolAberdeen High

Students per teacherat that high school 16.7Highest 14.2Lowest

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.

Cambridge neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cambridge’s Town Square.

Aberdeen neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Aberdeen’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Cambridge and Aberdeen

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

Bordering Cambridge

+ Compare

Algonquin1,074 people · $343K homes

Towns like Cambridge

+ Compare

Elkton15,910 people · $293K homes

+ Compare

New Carrollton13,564 people · $395K homes

+ Compare

Cumberland18,804 people · $123K homes

+ Compare

Westminster20,445 people · $338K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Maryland towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Cambridge vs Aberdeen

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Aberdeen places higher on 15 of 22 MD lists

A typical home costs $550 more a month in Aberdeen

What daily life feels like in each

67 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Cambridge and Aberdeen

Bordering Cambridge

Towns like Cambridge

Post to Cambridge

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