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Leonardtown, Maryland

Leonardtown is a small town of about 5,000 people in St. Mary's County, Maryland. It's the county seat. It's growing fast: its population is up 11% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Washington, is about 46 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townCounty seat

Population
5,033
up 11% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$575,300
St. Mary's County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$153,819
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lexington Park area
100.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Medstar Saint Mary's Hospital
To Washington
46 mi
straight line

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 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Leonardtown itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMedstar Saint Mary's Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 46 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 Leonardtown 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 11% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$575,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%St. Mary's County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,002 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$153,819U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,880 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
60%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 Leonardtown 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
5,0332020: 4,542
Median age
38.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
55%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
15%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 (26%); government (26%); professional and business services (16%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
2%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, in town. 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

4 public schools in Leonardtown, run by St. Mary's 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.

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
91 feet

Weather stations: Solomons (10 miles away) and Patuxent River Nas (12 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: Alexandria, 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • George Washington Birthplace National Monument16 miles
  • Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park24 miles
  • Thomas Stone National Historic Site26 miles
  • Piscataway Park33 miles
  • Fort Washington Park35 miles

Read about Leonardtown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Leonardtown?

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

  • Callaway, MD (unincorporated)930 people, 8 miles
  • Broomes Island, MD (unincorporated)460 people, 9 miles
  • Solomons, MD (unincorporated)2,440 people, 10 miles
  • Mechanicsville, MD (unincorporated)1,395 people, 10 miles
  • Tall Timbers, MD (unincorporated)391 people, 11 miles
  • Rock Point, MD (unincorporated)244 people, 11 miles
  • Cobb Island, MD (unincorporated)916 people, 12 miles
  • Piney Point, MD (unincorporated)1,274 people, 13 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.