Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Maryland

Boonsboro, Maryland

Boonsboro is a small town of about 3,900 people in Washington County, Maryland. It has grown about 2% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Washington, is about 54 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,867
up 2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$352,400
Washington County prices up 19% since 2022
Prices, Hagerstown area
94.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Hagerstown, MD
To Washington
54 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.8% below the U.S. average in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Boonsboro to say.
  • A safer neighborhood4 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMeritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 54 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Boonsboro meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$352,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Washington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,438 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,989 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
94.2U.S. average = 100 (the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Hagerstown-Martinsburg metro area, not Boonsboro alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,8672020: 3,790
Median age
35.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (25%); professional and business services (13%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
3%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Meritus Medical Center, Hagerstown, MD, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Boonsboro, run by Washington County Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Maryland's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
21°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
25 a year
Nights at or below freezing
126 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.6 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
506 feet

Weather stations: Sharpsburg 5 S (8 miles away) and Emmitsburg 2 SE (23 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Meritus Medical Center, Frederick, Washington.

Washington County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail1 mile
  • Antietam National Battlefield3 miles
  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park6 miles
  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park12 miles
  • Catoctin Mountain Park13 miles

Read about Boonsboro's history on Wikipedia.

Know Boonsboro?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Mapleville, MD (unincorporated)365 people, 2 miles
  • San Mar, MD (unincorporated)306 people, 3 miles
  • Mount Lena, MD (unincorporated)391 people, 4 miles
  • Breathedsville, MD (unincorporated)147 people, 4 miles
  • Tilghmanton, MD (unincorporated)282 people, 5 miles
  • Mount Briar, MD (unincorporated)201 people, 5 miles
  • Fairplay, MD (unincorporated)511 people, 5 miles
  • Rohrersville, MD (unincorporated)141 people, 5 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.