Cambridge, MD

Micro Area Profile

32,754 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Cambridge, MD micropolitan area.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity734th of 835 metro and micro areas measured28
GrowthTop 43% of 834 metro and micro areas measured54
Housing affordability686th of 835 metro and micro areas measured62
ClimateTop 11% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Physical resilience524th of 835 metro and micro areas measured46
Access558th of 835 metro and micro areas measured69
Economic stability610th of 835 metro and micro areas measured32
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places Cambridge in the bottom 12%.

Rent takes 35% of renter income here, at or above the threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, while buying strains owner incomes less — the median home is 3.2 times what its owners earn, against a historic benchmark near three.

A typical July reaches 87°F and a typical January falls to 30°F, on thirty-year normals.

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
32,754
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,839
Bottom 33% nationally
Density
61/sq mi
540.8 sq mi of land
Median age
43.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Maryland
Nearest major airport
DOV
58 mi · Dover AFB
Median home value
$262,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% — higher than in all but 28% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 14,937 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,4142024 ACS 5-Year$61,839Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7782024 ACS 5-Year$35,605Top 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.3 minBottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.4%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.7%62nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,937Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 34%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 25%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,68213th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.6%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 25%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.8%Bottom 28%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.61.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in July 2026. It has been rising, 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.

27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across 11 of them
Math proficiency
27.3%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
39.9%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cambridge-South Dorchester High SchoolDorchester County Public Schools81116.927%57%
North Dorchester High SchoolDorchester County Public Schools52615.032%67%
Mace's Lane Middle SchoolDorchester County Public Schools49012.36%25%
Maple Elementary SchoolDorchester County Public Schools48314.625%20%
North Dorchester Middle SchoolDorchester County Public Schools41413.823%42%
Sandy Hill ElementaryDorchester County Public Schools39311.922%22%
Hurlock Elementary SchoolDorchester County Public Schools39113.527%21%
Warwick Elementary SchoolDorchester County Public Schools34615.052%52%
Choptank Elementary SchoolDorchester County Public Schools31911.817%22%
South Dorchester SchoolDorchester County Public Schools23014.462%67%
Vienna Elementary SchoolDorchester County Public Schools18312.227%27%
Judith P. Hoyer Early Childhood CenterDorchester County Public Schools0———

73.4% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,456 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.94% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,144, some 11% above the $1,032 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,144 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,800 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $61,839.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,032 a month.

A median home at $262,400 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $81,525, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
34.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,144
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,032
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$262,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Cambridge’s median household income of $61,839, 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 to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year65.6%25th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±302024 ACS 5-Year16,43317th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$952Bottom 42%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,591Bottom 37%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,144Bottom 46%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$822024 ACS 5-Year$1,032Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,5082024 ACS 5-Year$262,40066th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1052024 ACS 5-Year$2,45665th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,7712024 ACS 5-Year$81,525Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.94%59th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year34.6%Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1972024 ACS 5-Year1,09052nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%77th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3872024 ACS 5-Year2,88732nd percentileof 9352024 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

54/ 100
Top 43% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 33,138 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 33,138 residents in 2024, up 0.7% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 87 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
87
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.7
Top 50% nationally
Year over year
+19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202433k33k
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 rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 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 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.3 inches, including 12.5 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PATUXENT RIVER NAS, 21.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals12.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

46 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are coastal flooding, hurricane and inland flooding, with coastal flooding alone responsible for 37% 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.

Coastal floodingHigh
HurricaneElevated
WildfireElevated
DroughtModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, ice storm, winter weather, cold wave, lightning, tornado, inland flooding, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dover AFB at 58 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.8%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle58 miBottom 29%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dover AFBDOV58 mi9,602 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI61 mi10,503 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD84 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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50
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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)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.

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