Living in California, Maryland: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.8% above the U.S. average in the Lexington Park metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town5 public schools: 4 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Great Mills High, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byMedstar Saint Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 51 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 California 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: $346,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%St. Mary's County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,927 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $119,855U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,963 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 100.8U.S. average = 100 (the Lexington Park 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 Lexington Park metro area, not California 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 13,136The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 35 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 9%U.S.: 6%

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 (20%); government (19%); professional and business services (15%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 18%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Medstar Saint Mary's Hospital, Leonardtown, MD, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

5 public schools in California, run by St. Mary's County Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Great Mills High, about 3 miles away.

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: 85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 95%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: 30°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 31 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 58 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.3 inches a year
Snow: 12 inches a year
Elevation: 98 feet

Weather stations: Solomons (3 miles away) and Patuxent River Nas (4 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

Medstar Saint Mary's HospitalEmergency room8

Bowie, MDCity of 58,00047

Washington, DCMetro of 6.5 million51

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: Medstar Saint Mary's Hospital, Bowie, Washington.

St. Mary's County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park18 miles
George Washington Birthplace National Monument24 miles
Thomas Stone National Historic Site33 miles
Piscataway Park39 miles
Fort Washington Park40 miles

Read about California's history on Wikipedia.

Know California?

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

Wildewood, MD7,600 people, 3 miles
Drum Point, MD3,600 people, 4 miles
Lexington Park, MD13,300 people, 4 miles
Lusby, MD2,600 people, 5 miles
Chesapeake Ranch Estates, MD9,200 people, 6 miles
Leonardtown, MD5,000 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Solomons, MD (unincorporated)2,440 people, 3 miles
Callaway, MD (unincorporated)930 people, 5 miles
Broomes Island, MD (unincorporated)460 people, 8 miles
Tall Timbers, MD (unincorporated)391 people, 9 miles
Piney Point, MD (unincorporated)1,274 people, 10 miles
Long Beach, MD (unincorporated)1,849 people, 11 miles
St. Leonard, MD (unincorporated)726 people, 12 miles
Calvert Beach, MD (unincorporated)1,074 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.