Westminster, Maryland
Area Profile
20,445 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Westminster, in Carroll County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment is 3.3% and median household income $86,219, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, rather than for Westminster alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 55% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 12% of published profiles for schools.
183 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, rather than for Westminster alone.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, is 3.3%, lower than in 87% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, fell 0.4% over the past year, to 93,173 employed residents.
36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsCarroll County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $81,390 | 63rd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftCarroll County, MD’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $80,594 | 66th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$13,4582024 ACS 5-Year | $86,219 | Top 27%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,7702024 ACS 5-Year | $44,953 | Top 24%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.5% | Top 49%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.0 min | Bottom 26%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 36.3% | Top 22%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 70.0% | 28th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentCarroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 93,173 | Top 43%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Carroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.5% | Bottom 32%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Carroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.4% | Top 41%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceCarroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 96,337 | 56th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 80.3% | Top 43%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $76,370 | Top 27%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $59,070 | Top 25%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 73rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Carroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.3% | Top 37%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateCarroll County, MD’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.3% | Top 13%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.4% | 77th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| General and Operations Managers | 44,960 | $117,040 |
| Retail Salespersons | 39,920 | $34,800 |
| Registered Nurses | 30,930 | $99,550 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 29,780 | $49,220 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 28,350 | $43,250 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 26,880 | $37,640 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Carroll County, MD, which contains this city.
55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 14.4 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster High | Carroll County Public Schools | 1,477 | 16.6 | 64% | 79% |
| Winters Mill High | Carroll County Public Schools | 1,156 | 18.3 | 50% | 65% |
| Westminster West Middle | Carroll County Public Schools | 923 | 15.9 | 50% | 60% |
| Westminster East Middle | Carroll County Public Schools | 796 | 13.5 | 40% | 58% |
| Winfield Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 724 | 13.9 | 68% | 61% |
| Runnymede Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 625 | 14.2 | 57% | 50% |
| Cranberry Station Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 593 | 15.2 | 57% | 45% |
| William Winchester Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 587 | 15.4 | 56% | 54% |
| Westminster Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 564 | 14.5 | 59% | 53% |
| Friendship Valley Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 518 | 14.0 | 58% | 48% |
| Robert Moton Elementary | Carroll County Public Schools | 440 | 9.6 | 52% | 47% |
| Gateway School | Carroll County Public Schools | 80 | 4.7 | 10% | 30% |
35.2% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 103.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area is up 32% over five years, and up 2.7% 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 $4,079 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.21% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,857, some 26% above the $1,476 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,857 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $74,300 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $86,219.
The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,476 a month.
A median home at $337,600 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $117,837, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 3% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Westminster’s median household income of $86,219, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2023 | 103.2 | Bottom 39%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +2.7% | 43rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +31.8% | 17th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +61.0% | 7th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 2.9 | Bottom 38%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 56.5% | 16th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3712024 ACS 5-Year | 8,263 | 93rd percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,511 | Bottom 43%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,358 | Bottom 41%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,857 | Bottom 40%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$672024 ACS 5-Year | $1,476 | Bottom 20%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$22,8552024 ACS 5-Year | $337,600 | 76th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$3512024 ACS 5-Year | $4,079 | 84th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$10,9032024 ACS 5-Year | $117,837 | Top 16%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.21% | 64th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 33.9% | Bottom 23%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±152024 ACS 5-Year | 10 | 64th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.1% | 52nd percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.7% | 31st percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1782024 ACS 5-Year | 314 | 84th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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 and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 20,662 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 183 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 16% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, rather than for Westminster alone.
Federal tax returns show Carroll County, which contains Westminster, gained about 0.3% 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 $81,390, close to the $80,594 of households that moved out.
At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Carroll County, MD, which contains Westminster, rather than for Westminster alone.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Baltimore County, MD 1,579 people · 22% of arrivals
- Howard County, MD 833 people · 12% of arrivals
- Frederick County, MD 640 people · 8.9% of arrivals
- Anne Arundel County, MD 592 people · 8.2% of arrivals
- Montgomery County, MD 398 people · 5.5% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Baltimore County, MD 905 people · 13% of departures
- Frederick County, MD 562 people · 8.4% of departures
- York County, PA 540 people · 8.0% of departures
- Howard County, MD 405 people · 6.0% of departures
- Adams County, PA 290 people · 4.3% 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. This is the figure for Carroll County, MD. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Westminster, MD is not one. This is the figure for Carroll County, MD, which contains this city.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 21°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 42.1 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 67 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 42.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 21°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 85°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 42 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 44°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 55% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 86% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, earthquake, inland flooding, hail, tornado, ice storm, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Westminster's police department reported 212 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,702.
Carroll County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 15.3 per 100,000 residents in Carroll County.
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.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Westminster’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Westminster (Carroll County) rather than Westminster itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.
- 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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood Marshall at 33 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 88.1% | Bottom 43%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 33 mi | Bottom 24%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 5 | Top 45%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.4% | Bottom 45%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood Marshall | BWI | 33 mi | 10,503 ft |
| Harrisburg Intl | MDT | 44 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Washington Dulles Intl | IAD | 50 mi | 11,500 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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Other cities in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Baltimore city | 573,243 | 54 | Baltimore vs Westminster |
| Columbia | Howard County | 104,338 | 72 | Columbia vs Westminster |
| Ellicott City | Howard County | 75,257 | 72 | Ellicott City vs Westminster |
| Glen Burnie | Anne Arundel County | 72,590 | 69 | |
| Dundalk | Baltimore County | 65,969 | 59 | |
| Towson | Baltimore County | 58,679 | 74 | |
| Severn | Anne Arundel County | 58,402 | 74 | |
| Bel Air South | Harford County | 58,137 | 74 | |
| Odenton | Anne Arundel County | 45,002 | 74 | |
| Catonsville | Baltimore County | 43,368 | 72 | |
| Annapolis | Anne Arundel County | 40,720 | 75 | |
| Essex | Baltimore County | 40,580 | 63 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Westminster side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Westminster from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.