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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

5Mount Rainier

13Berlin

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

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

Left end = #1 in Maryland. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mount Rainier’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%

Mount Rainier$2,800/mo

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

Berlin$2,680/mo

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

Mount RainierBerlin

Snow a year6″8″

January low26°F 28°F

July high88°F 88°F

Growing season (days)202d 201d

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

Outdoors & history

Mount RainierBerlin

Trails0 mi 3 mi

Conserved land5.8%7.5%

Settled1910 1868

National Register places1 4

Community

Mount RainierBerlin

Library hours a week44 hrs 49 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.

Mount RainierMD BerlinMD

Mount Rainier ↔ Berlin103 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

Mount RainierBerlin

People

Population 8,245Highest 5,232Lowest

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

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

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

Kids under 18 23.3%±4.9Lowest MD: 22.2% 26.8%±5Highest 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+ 15.5%±4.1Lowest MD: 16.7% 17.3%±4Highest 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+ 37.9%Lowest MD: 43.4% 41.9%Highest MD: 43.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $68,505±$5kLowest 34% below MD $81,438±$15kHighest 21% 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 $529,600±$44kHighest 26% above MD $423,500±$59kLowest about the MD average

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

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.2%±9Lowest MD: 51.5% 56.3%±13Highest 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 6.3%Lowest MD: 9.4% 18.9%Highest MD: 9.4%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

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

Work in townworking residents 1.1%Lowest 14.1%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.3 miLowest 10.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BerlinFew work in Mount Rainier

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.8%Lowest 7.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 2.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.7 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 4Highest

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

Schools

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

School district Prince George's County Public SchoolsWorcester County Public Schools

High school in town None in townStephen Decatur High

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.

Mount Rainier neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mount Rainier’s Town Square.

Berlin neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Berlin’s Town Square.

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Bordering Mount Rainier

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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.

Mount Rainier vs Berlin

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 Mount Rainier and Berlin

Bordering Mount Rainier

Towns like Mount Rainier

Post to Mount Rainier

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