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Poolesville, Maryland

Poolesville is a small town of about 5,900 people in Montgomery County, Maryland. It has grown about 3% 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 27 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,942
up 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$752,300
Montgomery County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$205,919
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Washington area
108.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Leesburg, VA
To Washington
27 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.9% above the U.S. average in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Poolesville 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byInova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 27 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 Poolesville 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
$752,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,831 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$205,919U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
95%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,056 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
20%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
108.9U.S. average = 100 (the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, not Poolesville 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
5,9422020: 5,782
Median age
41.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
64%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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
Professional and business services (21%); schools, health care and social services (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
38 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
36%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: Inova Loudoun Hospital, Leesburg, VA, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

3 public schools in Poolesville, run by Montgomery 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
89%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
99%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
25°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
32 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.5 inches a year
Snow
33 inches a year
Elevation
400 feet

Weather stations: Wfo Sterling (12 miles away) and Clarksburg 2.1 NE (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: Inova Loudoun Hospital, Gaithersburg, Washington.

Montgomery County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Seneca Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park4 miles
  • George Washington Memorial Parkway12 miles
  • Monocacy National Battlefield14 miles
  • Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts16 miles
  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park18 miles

Read about Poolesville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Poolesville?

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

  • Barnesville, MD143 people, 6 miles
  • Kincora, VA (unincorporated)1,008 people, 7 miles
  • Ten Mile Creek, MD (unincorporated)1,184 people, 8 miles
  • Goose Creek Village, VA (unincorporated)2,461 people, 9 miles
  • Oak Grove, VA (unincorporated)2,408 people, 11 miles
  • Waterford, VA (unincorporated)220 people, 11 miles
  • Point of Rocks, MD (unincorporated)2,462 people, 11 miles
  • Adamstown, MD (unincorporated)2,025 people, 12 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.