Living in Prince George’s County: towns, schools and homes

Living in Prince George’s County

Prince George’s County was formed in 1696 from parts of Charles and Calvert counties and named for Prince George of Denmark. It borders Washington, D.C. on the west, Montgomery County to the northwest and Howard County to the north. The Patuxent River runs down its eastern side, separating it from Anne Arundel and Calvert, and Charles County sits to the south. Across the Potomac are Fairfax County and Alexandria, Virginia. The county seat is Upper Marlboro, a small incorporated town.

Voters approved a charter in 1970, and the county is run by an elected county executive and an 11-member county council, nine elected by district and two at large. The county has 27 incorporated municipalities, more than any other county in Maryland, from Bowie, the largest, to Laurel, College Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro. Bladensburg, incorporated in 1854, is the oldest. Most land outside those towns is unincorporated, which means the county handles zoning, permits and police there, while towns can add their own services and their own property tax.

Many familiar names are unincorporated communities or census-designated places with no town government: Largo, Clinton, Fort Washington, Beltsville, Brandywine, Accokeek and Oxon Hill, which includes National Harbor. Deborah Green, a REALTOR with LPT Realty licensed in Maryland since 2002, works with buyers, sellers, investors and people relocating across the county.

Homes and property types in Prince George’s County

The oldest housing sits inside and near the Beltway along US 1. Hyattsville, incorporated in 1886 and reached by streetcar from D.C. by the 1890s, has a National Register historic district listed in 1982 and expanded in 2004, full of late 19th and early 20th century houses. College Park’s Calvert Hills and Old Town are on the National Register too, with Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Foursquare, Cape Cod and bungalow houses. Laurel still has some of the two-story stone and brick mill houses at the west end of Main Street.

Planned communities shaped the middle of the century. Greenbelt was built by the federal Resettlement Administration in the 1930s, and its original homes are owned through Greenbelt Homes, Inc., a housing cooperative, so buying one means buying a share in the co-op. In Bowie, Levitt and Sons built Belair at Bowie between 1957 and 1965 on the old Belair Estate, and most of the city’s homes are in it. Beltsville saw heavy building after World War II, and Fort Washington stayed rural until suburban growth began around 1960.

Townhomes and condos cluster near Metro and along US 1, including the Arts District row homes in Hyattsville built around 2009, and at National Harbor on the Potomac. The county’s Plan 2035 general plan directs most future housing and job growth to eight Regional Transit Districts around transit, keeps Rural and Agricultural Areas at low density, and names areas planned for future water and sewer. New homes are also going up in the Westphalia sector plan area near Upper Marlboro, approved in 2007, and around Brandywine in the south.

Age and location set the inspection list. A house from the early 1900s in Hyattsville, Mount Rainier or College Park can have older wiring, plumbing and basements that take water, so a full inspection matters. In the south, some homes rely on a private well and septic system. Land within 1,000 feet of tidal water falls in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, and lots near streams can sit in a FEMA flood zone.

Towns and communities in Prince George’s County

The county splits into incorporated municipalities, each with a mayor or council and its own rules on top of the county’s, and unincorporated communities run directly by the county. A mailing address does not settle which one a house is in: Largo addresses fall inside Lake Arbor, Fort Washington was split from Oxon Hill as a postal name only in 1980, and the Brandywine ZIP code reaches into Charles County.

Bowie

Incorporated city, the county’s largest, with a council-manager government. Old Town Bowie grew from a railroad settlement; most homes are in the 1957 to 1965 Levitt community Belair at Bowie.

Laurel

Incorporated city since 1870, a former Patuxent River mill town on the Howard County line. Historic Main Street, older homes, townhomes and apartments; Fort Meade and the NSA are nearby.

College Park

Incorporated city since 1945, home to the University of Maryland. Calvert Hills and Old Town are on the National Register; newer apartments line Baltimore Avenue (US 1).

Greenbelt

Incorporated city since 1937, the New Deal planned town. Old Greenbelt is a National Historic Landmark District with cooperative homes; NASA Goddard borders its eastern edge.

Hyattsville

Incorporated city since 1886 on US 1 just over the D.C. line. A large historic district of older houses, plus the Arts District row homes and apartments near Route 1.

Upper Marlboro

Incorporated town since 1870 and the county seat, with the courthouse and county offices. The Upper Marlboro mailing area covers far more unincorporated land than the small town itself.

Largo

Unincorporated census-designated place just east of the Beltway, at the end of the Blue and Silver lines. Prince George’s Community College and UM Capital Region Medical Center are here.

Beltsville

Unincorporated census-designated place on US 1 near the Montgomery County line. Mostly post-World War II homes; the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center covers a large tract nearby.

Fort Washington

Unincorporated census-designated place on the Potomac, mostly west of MD 210. Mostly detached homes built since about 1960, with Fort Washington Park on the river.

Clinton

Unincorporated census-designated place next to Joint Base Andrews, Camp Springs and Brandywine. Suburban homes and townhomes; the Surratt House Museum is here.

Brandywine

Unincorporated census-designated place where MD 5 and US 301 meet at the southern edge of the county. Rural until after 2000; townhouse communities were under construction as of 2024.

Accokeek

Unincorporated census-designated place in the far southwest near the Potomac and Piscataway Park. Larger lots and rural land; check each address for well and septic versus public utilities.

Schools and boundaries

Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) runs every public school in the county, including those inside Bowie, Laurel, Greenbelt and the other municipalities. PGCPS assigns students to neighborhood elementary, middle and high schools by attendance zone, and it posts approved boundary maps for each school year. The district itself says those maps are approximate and points families to its School Boundaries School Finder tool to confirm the assigned schools for an address.

Boundaries change. PGCPS ran a Comprehensive School Boundary Initiative with draft plans in 2021, and in February 2026 it held community sessions on proposed changes in the Beltsville area that would move some Beltsville Academy and Buck Lodge Middle students to Vansville Elementary and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle. The county also runs a selective Science and Technology program at three high schools; students may attend only the center that serves their home address.

Eleanor Roosevelt High School

On Hanover Parkway in Greenbelt, opened in 1976. Science and Technology center for the northern county; its zone covers all of the City of Greenbelt.

Oxon Hill High School

On Leyte Drive in Oxon Hill. One of the three PGCPS high schools hosting the selective Science and Technology program.

Charles Herbert Flowers High School

In Springdale, an unincorporated area. The third Science and Technology center, run as a comprehensive science and technology magnet.

Frederick Douglass High School

In Croom with an Upper Marlboro mailing address, established in 1935 and named for the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Gwynn Park High School

On Brandywine Road in Brandywine, founded in 1949, serving the southern part of the county.

Friendly High School

On Allentown Road in Fort Washington, founded in 1970, serving part of the Potomac side of the county.

What it costs to own here beyond the price

Every owner pays county property tax. Inside one of the 27 municipalities, the town can levy its own property tax too, and the county charges a lower county rate there, called the municipal tax rate differential, because the town provides some services itself. Compare the full tax bill on SDAT’s records for the property. Owner-occupants can also get the Homestead Tax Credit, which caps how fast taxable assessments can rise. The county sets a cap lower than the state’s.

The Homestead credit is not automatic. You apply through the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) for the home you live in. The separate Homeowners’ Tax Credit is based on household income and net worth, must be filed every year by October 1, and buyers can apply before settlement by asking SDAT for Form HTC-NP at least 30 days ahead. At closing, the state transfer tax, the state recordation tax and the county transfer tax are charged. The county’s finance office requires its own affidavit with the deed.

WSSC Water serves most of the county, though a few cities run their own water facilities, so confirm the provider. WSSC levies front foot benefit charges to pay for water and sewer mains, usually on the property tax bill for 30 years, and the county bill shows how many payments remain. Some newer subdivisions also carry private deferred water and sewer assessments recorded by covenant. Maryland law requires sellers in Prince George’s County to disclose those, including the annual amount and payments remaining. Ask for both before you sign.

Electricity comes from Pepco in most of the county, SMECO in the southern part and BGE in some areas, so check the utility for the address. Many townhome, condo and newer single-family communities have HOA covenants; read them before you commit. Near the Patuxent, Potomac and Anacostia, the Critical Area limits clearing and building, and tree work there can need a county Critical Area permit. Check the FEMA flood map, since lenders require flood insurance in mapped flood zones.

Buying your first home in Prince George’s County

Prince George’s County has its own down payment program on top of the state’s. Pathway to Purchase is run by the county and can be paired with a Maryland Mortgage Program loan through any MMP-approved lender. The state’s 1st Time Advantage loans come from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Income and price limits change, so ask a participating lender. Deborah runs free seminars for first-time buyers that walk through these programs and the steps from pre-approval to settlement.

Closing costs work differently for first-time buyers in Maryland. A first-time Maryland homebuyer, someone who has never owned a home in Maryland as a principal residence, pays a reduced state transfer tax, and the statute puts the remainder on the seller. All buyers on the deed must qualify and sign an affidavit. Prince George’s County does not reduce its own transfer tax for first-time buyers in general, but it exempts some first-time buyers who are county or municipal police officers or deputy sheriffs.

Pathway to Purchase

Prince George’s County program. First-time buyers who have not owned a home in three years; the home must be in the county, owner-occupied, and pass a Housing Quality Standards inspection. The loan is forgiven after ten years.

MMP 1st Time Advantage

DHCD’s Maryland Mortgage Program. A first mortgage for first-time buyers, with down payment assistance options; buyers in a targeted area or eligible veterans can qualify even if they owned before.

Maryland first-time buyer transfer tax rule

State law. A first-time Maryland homebuyer buying a principal residence pays a reduced state transfer tax, and the seller pays the rest; all buyers must qualify and sign an affidavit.

County police and sheriff exemption

Prince George’s County Office of Finance. First-time buyers who are county or municipal police officers or deputy sheriffs are exempt from county transfer tax, with a three-year occupancy commitment.

Parks, trails and things to do

The National Park Service runs Greenbelt Park, Fort Washington Park and Piscataway Park, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service runs the Patuxent Research Refuge near Laurel. The county parks department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, runs regional parks such as Watkins in Upper Marlboro and smaller parks like Lake Artemesia along the Anacostia tributaries.

Events follow the towns. Laurel’s Main Street Festival has run each May since 1981. Hyattsville’s Arts and Ales festival fills downtown off Baltimore Avenue, inside the Gateway Arts District, a two-mile stretch of US 1 through Mount Rainier, Brentwood, North Brentwood and Hyattsville. The county fair is held at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center south of Upper Marlboro. National Harbor on the Potomac opened in 2008.

Greenbelt Park

National Park Service land of about 1,100 acres in Greenbelt, with a 174-site campground, picnic areas and miles of wooded trails.

Fort Washington Park

On the Potomac in Fort Washington. The present fort was finished in 1824, replacing Fort Warburton, which its own garrison destroyed in 1814.

Piscataway Park

About 5,000 acres of Park Service land along the Potomac from Piscataway Creek to Marshall Hall, reaching into Charles County, near Accokeek.

Patuxent Research Refuge

The National Wildlife Visitor Center sits on the refuge’s South Tract at 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop in Laurel.

Watkins Regional Park

At 301 Watkins Park Drive in Upper Marlboro, one of the county’s four regional parks, listed by the parks department at 839 acres.

Lake Artemesia

A 38-acre lake near College Park and Berwyn Heights, run by M-NCPPC, the county parks and planning agency.

College Park Airport

Built in 1909 under Wilbur Wright’s supervision, recognized as the oldest continuously operating airport in the world, with an aviation museum on site.

Getting around: DC, Baltimore and BWI

The county lists 15 Metrorail stations: Capitol Heights, Addison Road, Morgan Boulevard and Largo on the Blue and Silver lines; Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton on the Orange Line; and West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park, Greenbelt, Southern Avenue, Naylor Road, Suitland and Branch Avenue on the Green Line. The Purple Line light rail will add stations from Takoma-Langley through College Park and Riverdale Park to New Carrollton; MDOT MTA’s contract date for opening is the end of 2027.

MARC trains serve the county on two lines. The Penn Line stops at New Carrollton, Seabrook in Lanham and Bowie State, then runs north to BWI Marshall Rail Station and Baltimore Penn Station, with Union Station in D.C. at the other end. The Camden Line stops at Riverdale Park Town Center, College Park, Greenbelt, Muirkirk in Beltsville, Laurel and Laurel Racetrack on its way to Camden Station in Baltimore. Amtrak also stops at New Carrollton.

By car, the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) loops through the inner county, US 50 runs from D.C. east through Bowie toward Annapolis, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and I-95 lead north to Baltimore and BWI. In the south, MD 5, US 301 and MD 210 carry traffic toward Waldorf, Brandywine and Fort Washington. Major employers inside the county include Joint Base Andrews, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt, the University of Maryland and the U.S. Census Bureau headquarters; Fort Meade sits just past Laurel in Anne Arundel County.