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%

Clear Spring$2,180/mo

Typical home $369K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.82% · or rent about $1,352/mo · Housing →

Midland$680/mo

Typical home $111K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.09% · or rent about $696/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,500 a month, about $18,000 a year, between Clear Spring and Midland.

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

Midland gets 41 more inches of snow a year

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

Clear SpringMidland

Snow a year31″72″

January low23°F 19°F

July high85°F 79°F

Growing season (days)188d 171d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)10th 42nd

Outdoors & history

Clear SpringMidland

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land17.3%5.5%

Settled1836 1850

National Register places1 —

Archive photos—4

Famous people born here—1

Community

Clear SpringMidland

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

54 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Clear SpringMD MidlandMD

Clear Spring ↔ Midland54 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

Clear SpringMidland

People

Population 342Lowest 589Highest

Median age 29.6±7.8Highest 25% below MD 28.8±11.6Lowest 27% below MD

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

Kids under 18 39.8%±12.6Highest MD: 22.2% 38.4%±7Lowest MD: 22.2%

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

Age 65+ 13.7%±10.1Lowest MD: 16.7% 13.8%±5.6Highest MD: 16.7%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 12.4%Lowest MD: 43.4% 13.3%Highest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.5%±5.6Lowest MD: 6.9% 8.3%±5.5Highest MD: 6.9%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $47,375±$23kLowest 54% below MD $63,906±$17kHighest 38% below MD

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $175,000±$58kHighest 58% below MD $127,500±$28kLowest 70% below MD

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,352±$366Highest 21% below MD $696±$62Lowest 59% below MD

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,432Highest 65% below MD $1,394Lowest 66% below MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 55.9%±24.7Lowest MD: 51.5% 71%±94.9Highest MD: 51.5%

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

Below poverty line 8.5%Lowest MD: 9.4% 21.2%Highest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 46.7%Lowest MD: 67.6% 56.6%Highest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 41 yrs older than MD 1961Highest 18 yrs older than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 min 23% below MD 24 min 23% below MD

Work from home 8.9%±7.7Highest MD: 19.3% 5.1%±4.3Lowest MD: 19.3%

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

Work in townworking residents 0.6%Highest 0%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.8 miHighest 10.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.23Highest 0.07Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Hagerstown (16%)Cumberland (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MidlandFew work in Clear Spring

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 17.3%Highest 5.5%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1 1

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 74.0Lowest 128Highest

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.

Clear Spring neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Clear Spring’s Town Square.

Midland neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Midland’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Clear Spring and Midland

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

Towns like Clear Spring

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Accident351 people · $220K homes

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Cecilton820 people · $242K 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.

Clear Spring vs Midland

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,500 more a month in Clear Spring

Midland gets 41 more inches of snow a year

54 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Clear Spring and Midland

Towns like Clear Spring

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