Allegany County, MD

County Profile

67,452 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Allegany County, MD.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,437th of 1,463 counties measured17
SchoolsTop 37% of 1,377 counties measured60
Growth1,351st of 1,453 counties measured23
Housing affordabilityTop 26% of 1,462 counties measured79
ClimateTop 49% of 1,463 counties measured69
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 1,463 counties measured85
Access1,175th of 1,463 counties measured63
Economic stability1,324th of 1,463 counties measured24
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Allegany County in the bottom 2%.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.2 students for every teacher.

32 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
67,452
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,603
Bottom 34% nationally
Density
160/sq mi
422.2 sq mi of land
Median age
41.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Allegany County
Maryland
Nearest major airport
LBE
59 mi · Arnold Palmer Rgnl
Median home value
$154,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% — higher than in all but 9% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 4.0% over the past year, to 21,905 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$48,79219th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$52,70032nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,7502024 ACS 5-Year$59,603Bottom 34%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8852024 ACS 5-Year$31,210Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$49,414Bottom 22%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.8 minTop 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year21.1%Bottom 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.7%57th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202621,905Bottom 35%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−10.5%Bottom 1%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.0%Bottom 5%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202623,25435th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.4%Bottom 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%64th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 42%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.8%Bottom 9%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%55th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.82.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202460k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,603 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.2 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
41.8%
Top 47% in Maryland
Reading proficiency
53.1%
Top 41% in Maryland
The 12 largest of 22 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Mountain Ridge High SchoolAllegany County Public Schools74316.542%67%
Allegany HighAllegany County Public Schools71916.037%67%
Fort Hill HighAllegany County Public Schools65515.632%57%
Washington MiddleAllegany County Public Schools57713.737%35%
Braddock MiddleAllegany County Public Schools53612.843%54%
South Penn ElementaryAllegany County Public Schools49110.424%29%
Beall ElementaryAllegany County Public Schools41513.057%57%
Mount Savage MiddleAllegany County Public Schools40812.443%60%
West Side ElementaryAllegany County Public Schools32111.942%47%
Center for Career & Technical EducationAllegany County Public Schools30011.512%32%
Northeast ElementaryAllegany County Public Schools27214.347%52%
George's Creek ElementaryAllegany County Public Schools27213.637%37%

58.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Maryland’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Maryland is up 46% over five years, and up 5.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,636 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.06% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 21% above the $805 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $59,603.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $805 a month.

A median home at $154,900 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $69,590, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$805
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$154,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Allegany County’s median household income of $59,603, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Maryland’s figure2026 Q2+5.3%78th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Maryland’s figure2026 Q2+46.0%57th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Maryland’s figure2026 Q2+90.3%45th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 34%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.7%31st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±632024 ACS 5-Year32,72076th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$823Top 30%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,333Top 29%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 18%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$412024 ACS 5-Year$805Top 36%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,9692024 ACS 5-Year$154,90033rd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$462024 ACS 5-Year$1,63651st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,7852024 ACS 5-Year$69,590Bottom 33%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year1.06%69th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.2%Top 44%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2572024 ACS 5-Year96874th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%52nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%76th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4522024 ACS 5-Year5,33881st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

23/ 100
Ranks 1,351 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 67,097 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 32 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Allegany County gained about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $48,792, below the $52,700 of households that moved out.

At 0.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
32
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.5
Bottom 8% nationally
Year over year
−9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202468k67k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
65%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$48,792
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$52,700
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Mineral County, WV 296 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Garrett County, MD 165 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  3. Washington County, MD 103 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  4. Baltimore County, MD 76 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  5. Frederick County, MD 57 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Mineral County, WV 285 people · 18% of departures
  2. Garrett County, MD 102 people · 6.5% of departures
  3. Washington County, MD 70 people · 4.5% of departures
  4. Bedford County, PA 64 people · 4.1% of departures
  5. Allegheny County, PA 27 people · 1.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420253316
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+38%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 39.2 inches, including 28.7 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CUMBERLAND 2, 3.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals39.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals28.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

85 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 76% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 87% of measured US counties.

LandslideModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, inland flooding, winter weather, heat wave, hail, avalanche, lightning, earthquake, ice storm, tornado, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Allegany County records 14.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Drug overdose deaths run at 32.7 per 100,000 residents in Allegany County.

Homicide
14.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
32.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Allegany County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Arnold Palmer Rgnl at 59 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.9%Bottom 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle59 miBottom 22%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.9%Bottom 30%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE59 mi8,222 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD81 mi11,500 ft
Pittsburgh IntlPIT101 mi11,500 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
52
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Allegany County, MD

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.