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Towns / Maryland

Seat Pleasant, Maryland

Seat Pleasant is a suburb of about 4,500 people in Prince George's County, Maryland, in the Washington area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Washington, is about 6 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Washington

Population
4,524
up 0% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$326,900
Prince George's County prices up 12% since 2022
Prices, Washington area
108.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Upper Marlboro, MD
To Washington
6 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Seat Pleasant to say.
  • A safer neighborhood14 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 19.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 5 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUniversity of Md Capital Region Medical Center in Upper Marlboro, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityWashington is about 6 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 Seat Pleasant 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Seat Pleasant runs into the built-up area around Washington (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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
$326,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%Prince George's County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,391 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,903 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, not Seat Pleasant 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
4,5242020: 4,522
Median age
37 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); retail (14%); schools, health care and social services (13%)
Average commute
37 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
23%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: University of Md Capital Region Medical Center, Upper Marlboro, MD, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

6 public schools in Seat Pleasant, run by Prince George'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
28°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
48 a year
Nights at or below freezing
84 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.6 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
104 feet

Weather station: Natl Arboretum Dc (4 miles away). 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: University of Md Capital Region Medical Center, Bowie, Washington.

Prince George's 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • National Capital Parks2 miles
  • Greenbelt Park5 miles
  • Frederick Douglass National Historic Site5 miles
  • Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument6 miles
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial6 miles

Read about Seat Pleasant's history on Wikipedia.

Know Seat Pleasant?

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

  • Maryland Park, MD (unincorporated)839 people, 1 mile
  • Cedar Heights, MD (unincorporated)2,213 people, 1 mile
  • North Brentwood, MD589 people, 4 miles
  • Queensland, MD (unincorporated)2,168 people, 9 miles
  • Upper Marlboro, MD708 people, 10 miles
  • Queen Anne, MD (unincorporated)1,443 people, 10 miles
  • Martin's Additions, MD879 people, 11 miles
  • Chevy Chase Section Three, MD773 people, 11 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.