Laurel’s public schools outperform 8% of Maryland districts
The public schools Laurel’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 92% of Maryland’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
Most working residents leave Laurel for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Washington (16%), Columbia (5%) and Baltimore (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.
Laurel has chilly winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 88°, a January night drops to 25°, and about 16 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
Laurel is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is located between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. Formally, Laurel is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area, and its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town in the early 19th century, Laurel expanded local industry, and later became an early commuter town for Washington and Baltimore workers, following the arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1835. Largely residential today, the city maintains a historic district centered on its Main Street.