State profile · MD · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Maryland

Federal Clery Act filings for all 72 tracked Maryland campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Howard Community College currently has the lowest rate.

72
Institutions tracked
2.65
Avg campus rate / 1k (71 of 72 scored)
4.37
Statewide rate / 1k
#46
Rank by avg campus rate
352,744
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Howard Community College has the lowest rate in Maryland

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 72 tracked campuses in Maryland, 35 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Howard Community College has the lowest rate at 0.23 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
72
average campus, per 1,000 (71 of 72 scored)
2.65
lowest nonzero rate - Howard Community College
0.23
campuses at zero in score categories
35

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet MD · Maryland 2.65/1k campus avg · #46/59

RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID

  • RATE-MID 2.65/1k
  • RANK-LOWER #46/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Texas · ±0.06
  • ZERO-MIX 49% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −1.72
  • BOOK-FULL 71/72
  • CONC-MID top5 49%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Texas (-0.06/1k)

Maryland sheet RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID · peer Texas. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-MIX · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-MID. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Texas (-0.06/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Howard Community College leads at 0.23/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Maryland's unweighted average campus rate is higher than most scored U.S. states (only 22% of states report a higher average). Even so, Howard Community College leads nonzero reporters here at 0.23/1k, with Anne Arundel Community College (0.44/1k); Community College of Baltimore County (0.55/1k) next. The five largest campuses account for 49% of enrollment, weigh large-campus rates separately from small ones.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Maryland

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Maryland on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Maryland's 2.65/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Maryland, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 36 Maryland campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Positions are numbered within that group, because a rank counted through the zero-score campuses below would order them by nothing.

8
Hood College Frederick · 2,101 students
Enrollment
2,101
Incidents /1k
0.95
10
Garrett College Mchenry · 679 students
Enrollment
679
Incidents /1k
1.47
14
Goucher College Baltimore · 1,459 students
Enrollment
1,459
Incidents /1k
2.06
15
Towson University Towson · 19,401 students
Enrollment
19,401
Incidents /1k
3.04
19
McDaniel College Westminster · 2,868 students
Enrollment
2,868
Incidents /1k
4.88
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Howard Community College Columbia · 8,643 students 8,643 0.23 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 Anne Arundel Community College Arnold · 11,481 students 11,481 0.44 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Community College of Baltimore County Baltimore · 16,451 students 16,451 0.55 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Hagerstown Community College Hagerstown · 5,085 students 5,085 0.59 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Carroll Community College Westminster · 3,337 students 3,337 0.60 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Prince George's Community College Largo · 11,473 students 11,473 0.61 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 Montgomery College Rockville · 18,835 students 18,835 0.64 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 Hood College Frederick · 2,101 students 2,101 0.95 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 Harford Community College Bel Air · 5,067 students 5,067 0.99 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 Garrett College Mchenry · 679 students 679 1.47 5% of the leader · rank #10
11 University of Baltimore Baltimore · 3,187 students 3,187 1.57 5% of the leader · rank #11
12 University of Maryland, Baltimore Baltimore · 6,636 students 6,636 1.66 5% of the leader · rank #12
13 Wor-Wic Community College Salisbury · 2,941 students 2,941 1.70 5% of the leader · rank #13
14 Goucher College Baltimore · 1,459 students 1,459 2.06 7% of the leader · rank #14
15 Towson University Towson · 19,401 students 19,401 3.04 10% of the leader · rank #15
16 Allegany College of Maryland Cumberland · 2,762 students 2,762 3.26 10% of the leader · rank #16
17 Stevenson University Owings Mills · 3,684 students 3,684 3.80 12% of the leader · rank #17
18 Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore · 1,788 students 1,788 3.92 13% of the leader · rank #18
19 McDaniel College Westminster · 2,868 students 2,868 4.88 16% of the leader · rank #19
20 Loyola University Maryland Baltimore · 4,897 students 4,897 4.90 16% of the leader · rank #20
21 Washington College Chestertown · 923 students 923 5.42 17% of the leader · rank #21
22 Coppin State University Baltimore · 2,210 students 2,210 5.43 17% of the leader · rank #22
23 Frostburg State University Frostburg · 4,104 students 4,104 5.60 18% of the leader · rank #23
24 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi · 63,012 students 63,012 5.68 18% of the leader · rank #24
25 Morgan State University Baltimore · 10,739 students 10,739 5.77 18% of the leader · rank #25
26 Salisbury University Salisbury · 7,025 students 7,025 5.84 19% of the leader · rank #26
27 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore · 13,906 students 13,906 6.11 20% of the leader · rank #27
28 Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore · 1,687 students 1,687 6.52 21% of the leader · rank #28
29 St. John's College Annapolis · 583 students 583 6.86 22% of the leader · rank #29
30 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore · 30,210 students 30,210 7.38 24% of the leader · rank #30
31 University of Maryland-College Park College Park · 41,725 students 41,725 8.58 27% of the leader · rank #31
32 Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg · 2,408 students 2,408 9.14 29% of the leader · rank #32
33 Bowie State University Bowie · 6,353 students 6,353 9.92 32% of the leader · rank #33
34 University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne · 3,177 students 3,177 15.11 48% of the leader · rank #34
35 St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary'S City · 1,630 students 1,630 15.95 51% of the leader · rank #35
36 Del-Mar-Va Beauty Academy Salisbury · 32 students 32 31.25 100% of the leader · rank #36

Unranked campuses (36): zero score or no normalized rate

35 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. 1 lack a normalized rate because no positive enrollment denominator is available. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 21 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

Cecil College North East · 1,749 students
Enrollment
1,749
Incidents /1k
0.00
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
All-State Career-Baltimore Baltimore · 563 students 563 0.00
Aspen Beauty Academy of Laurel Laurel · 118 students 118 0.00
Aveda Institute-Maryland Bel Air · 77 students 77 0.00
Award Beauty School Hagerstown · 94 students 94 0.00
Bais HaMedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore Baltimore · 87 students 87 0.00
Baltimore Beauty & Barber School II Timonium · 101 students 101 0.00
Baltimore City Community College Baltimore · 4,375 students 4,375 0.00
Baltimore Studio of Hair Design Baltimore · 34 students 34 0.00
Capitol Technology University Laurel · 1,065 students 1,065 0.00
Cecil College North East · 1,749 students 1,749 0.00
Chesapeake College Wye Mills · 2,095 students 2,095 0.00
College of Southern Maryland La Plata · 5,062 students 5,062 0.00
Cortiva Institute Linthicum · 225 students 225 0.00
Empire Beauty School-Glen Burnie Glen Burnie · 77 students 77 0.00
Empire Beauty School-Owings Mills Owings Mills · 121 students 121 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Maryland by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: University of Maryland Global Campus (63,012); University of Maryland-College Park (41,725); Johns Hopkins University (30,210), then 68 more. The 15 biggest Maryland institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 49% of the 352,744 students enrolled across all 71 tracked Maryland institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near St. Mary's College of Maryland (1,630 students, 15.95/1k).

# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi · 63,012 students 63,012 100% of the leader · rank #1 5.68
2 University of Maryland-College Park College Park · 41,725 students 41,725 66% of the leader · rank #2 8.58
3 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore · 30,210 students 30,210 48% of the leader · rank #3 7.38
4 Towson University Towson · 19,401 students 19,401 31% of the leader · rank #4 3.04
5 Montgomery College Rockville · 18,835 students 18,835 30% of the leader · rank #5 0.64
6 Community College of Baltimore County Baltimore · 16,451 students 16,451 26% of the leader · rank #6 0.55
7 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore · 13,906 students 13,906 22% of the leader · rank #7 6.11
8 Anne Arundel Community College Arnold · 11,481 students 11,481 18% of the leader · rank #8 0.44
9 Prince George's Community College Largo · 11,473 students 11,473 18% of the leader · rank #9 0.61
10 Morgan State University Baltimore · 10,739 students 10,739 17% of the leader · rank #10 5.77
11 Howard Community College Columbia · 8,643 students 8,643 14% of the leader · rank #11 0.23
12 Frederick Community College Frederick · 7,293 students 7,293 12% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 Salisbury University Salisbury · 7,025 students 7,025 11% of the leader · rank #13 5.84
14 University of Maryland, Baltimore Baltimore · 6,636 students 6,636 11% of the leader · rank #14 1.66
15 Bowie State University Bowie · 6,353 students 6,353 10% of the leader · rank #15 9.92

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Maryland: closest on tracked campus count (72 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (2.65/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Texas sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.06/1k). Inside Maryland, open Howard Community College's campus sheet next.

Howard Community College profile → | All states → | Maryland net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Maryland campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Maryland?

Among Maryland campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Howard Community College has the lowest rate (0.23 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Anne Arundel Community College (0.44/1k); Community College of Baltimore County (0.55/1k). 35 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Maryland?

In Maryland, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Howard Community College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.23/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Maryland are compared?

This page covers 72 tracked higher-education institutions in Maryland, serving about 352,744 enrolled students combined across 37 cities. 36 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 36 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are University of Maryland Global Campus (63,012); University of Maryland-College Park (41,725); Johns Hopkins University (30,210). Nearby state averages for context: Texas (2.59/1k); Hawaii (2.75/1k); Oregon (2.52/1k); Washington (2.46/1k); Massachusetts (2.43/1k); Nebraska (2.42/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.