Fort Meade, Maryland

Community in Anne Arundel County · population 9,324 (2020 Census)

Household income: $103,261
Jan low / Jul high: 25° / 89°
Snow a year: 19 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 29
Median age: 25.1

Fort Meade is a community of 9,324 people in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It ranks better for young professionals than 99% of Maryland towns, more of a college town than 95% of Maryland towns, better for cycling than 77% of Maryland towns.

How Fort Meade ranks

Percentile among Maryland towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Maryland towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

Median rent is $2,435 a month. 0.0% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Maryland towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Fort Meade	Typical Maryland town
Median home value	—	$412,300
Median rent	$2,435	$1,748
Median household income	$103,261	$108,677
Home value ÷ income	—×	3.8×
Homeownership	0.0%	77.3%
Median year built	1998	1980
Seasonal / vacation homes	0.0%	—

Who lives in Fort Meade

People	Fort Meade	Typical Maryland town
Median age	25.1	40.2
Age 65 and over	2.3%	16.4%
Under 18	29.3%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	50.2%	39.4%
Below the poverty line	4.1%	7.1%
Veterans	25.2%	—
Born outside the U.S.	7.9%	—
Work from home	10.2%	17.4%
Average commute	16.2 min	31.4 min
Homes with broadband	94.2%	94.3%

Weather in Fort Meade

July highs average 88.8°F and January lows 25.4°F. About 45.0 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 19.3 inches of snow (typical Maryland town: 15.9 in). Expect about 34 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 93 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Baltimore Wash Intl Ap station (5.3 mi away).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

29 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Fort Meade since 1950, compared with 18 for the typical Maryland town. 3 rated (E)F2 or stronger. The strongest, an F3, struck on September 24, 2001 about 5.7 miles from the town center and killed 2. Tornadoes within 10 miles have caused 2 deaths and 57 injuries since 1950. The most recent was on June 18, 2025.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 66 times; the largest was 3.50 inches on June 8, 1990.

Severe weather in Anne Arundel County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Anne Arundel County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 14 deaths recorded.

Anne Arundel County has been included in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for flood, hurricane, snowstorm.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
January 24, 2026	Winter Storm	EM-3634: Severe Winter Storm
March 26, 2020	Biological	DR-4491: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3430: Covid-19
March 4, 2016	Snowstorm	DR-4261: Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm
November 20, 2012	Hurricane	DR-4091: Hurricane Sandy

Jobs and pay in Anne Arundel County

Anne Arundel County had 288,447 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $79,546 a year. Unemployment was 1.8% in 2023; in Fort Meade itself the ACS puts it at 3.7%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Fort Meade

7 public schools with 5,371 students, about 15.0 students per teacher.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
Meade High	9-12	2,349	16.9
MacArthur Middle	6-8	842	15.3
Meade Middle	6-8	779	11.8
Pershing Hill Elementary	K-5	530	14.3
Meade Heights Elementary	PK-5	439	16.9
West Meade Early Education Center	PK-K	217	14.5
Manor View Elementary	1-5	215	11.3

Towns near Fort Meade

Severn, MD
3.3 mi · 57,118 people · home $479,200
Maryland City, MD
3.3 mi · 19,153 people · home $424,900
Jessup, MD
3.5 mi · 10,535 people · home $462,000
Odenton, MD
3.8 mi · 42,947 people · home $435,300
Gambrills, MD
5.0 mi · 3,034 people · home $584,800
Savage, MD
5.1 mi · 7,542 people · home $424,300
North Laurel, MD
5.8 mi · 25,379 people · home $450,100
Elkridge, MD
6.2 mi · 25,171 people · home $454,200

Fort Meade questions

Is Fort Meade, Maryland a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Fort Meade scores better for retirees than 8% of Maryland towns and quieter than 8%. 2.3% of residents are 65 or older (median age 25.1).

What is the weather like in Fort Meade?

July highs average 88.8°F and January lows 25.4°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 45.0 inches of precipitation a year and 19.3 inches of snow.

Does Fort Meade get tornadoes?

29 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Fort Meade since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was a F3 on September 24, 2001. The typical Maryland town has had 18.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Fort Meade's Census boundary (GEOID 2429400). Comparisons use the median of Maryland towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.