Maryland is an amazing state that makes up for its small size with some of the best cities in the United States. The following list is of small cities, within close proximity to the nations capital, keeping the heartbeat of the country close while allowing for the individuality of small cities to shine.
Maryland has even more smaller towns that have greater offerings, but we solely picked the top 15 winners from a compiled list of small cities with populations between 20,000 and 100,000. Several criteria have been used in determining the top 15 small cities in Maryland. Some of these include amenities, crime, education, employment, housing, aesthetics and weather.
1. Reisterstown
With 2 main attractions to this small city of only 25,968 residents, according to City Data, the Reisterstown Festival and the Sportsplex are popular with both locals and visitors. Each year the festival boasts vendors galore, a parade and great entertainment.
There are actually 2 festivals, the Bloomin’ Arts Festival held in the spring and the bigger, Reisterstown Festival held the weekend after Labor Day, as stated on the Reisterstown Fest website. The Sportsplex is the leading sports facility in the Baltimore County area. It is home to a 200×85 foot NHL ice rink and a 180×80 foot soccer field, according to the town sports online site.
Reisterstown is located 14.8 miles from the Baltimore area, which makes it a great city that is close, but outside of the metro buzz and it’s still a reasonable drive to the Washington, D.C. area. Most common industries for employment are healthcare, educational services and finance. The median household income is $54,617 and home values average $269,081, as listed by City Data.
According to Area Vibes, this city is ranked #158 in Maryland and #6,943 in the USA. It also gives Reisterstown a livability rate of 76 out of 100 by combining scores of the amenities available, cost of living, crime rate, education, employment and housing market viability.
Amenities are rated quite high with 100s of shopping and dining availability, and though education is slightly above average in this city, the unemployment rate is on the decline and lower than the states average of 7.1%.
A family perk is the Reisterstown Recreation Council, a part of the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and parks that offers many programs not only for kids, but the whole family as well. Reisterstown Recreation offers a Mega Sports and Arts Camp, Camps at Chatsworth for Kids with Disabilities, Family Board Gaming, and much more. Also, the Reisterstown Theatre project produces many different plays throughout the year.
