'Most Ghetto' Cities In Maryland: Does Your Community Rank?

If ghetto describes a place as urban or poor, is it a surprise that five communities in Prince George’s County made the top 10 in a new up-for-discussion list of Maryland’s “most ghetto” areas?

The Roadsnacks website, a data compiler that specializes in creating lists that rate communities on how “snobby” or “redneck” they are, went there, compiling a list that rates the “most ghetto” citiess in several states - including Maryland.

Roadsnacks.net has compiled its list of the “most ghetto” cities in the state based on household income levels, high school graduation rates, number of convenience stores, number of drug stores, number of discount stores, crime rates and Twitter mentions of #ghetto.

Here’s the top 10 list of Maryland’s ghetto communities, from the website:

1. Hyattsville
2. Salisbury
3. Baltimore
4. Bladensburg
5. Cambridge
6. District Heights
7. Hagerstown
8. Suitland
9. Temple Hills
10. Elkton

»What do you make of the rankings? Tell us in comments below.

The cluster of Prince George’s County sites in the rankings drew this observation from the authors: “Maryland residents are aware that many areas inside the beltway on the south side of D.C. are ghetto. Perhaps these rankings actually put the whole ‘which places are the worst’ debate in order, though.”

Good news for Bowie residents: It ranked 87th in the state.

Of No. 1 ranked Hyattsville the writers said, “There is a larger concentration of discount outlets in Hyattsville than anywhere else in the state. Sociologists have indicated that drugs stores, convenience stores and discount stores are a staple of inner city life.”

SEE ALSO:

• The 100 ‘Drunkest’ Towns In Maryland: Does Your Community Rank?
• 10 ‘Snobbiest’ Cities in Maryland
• Edgewater Tops List of The ‘Most Redneck’ Towns In Maryland

Salisbury was No. 2 on the list. “For a city of just 30,000, there were plenty of Tweets, which helped Salisbury move up the rankings, such as this one: ‘Welcome to Salisbury where everyone you meet is either a redneck or ghetto !!!’ ”

The only surprising thing about Baltimore’s appearance in the rankings is that the city is third, based on its murder rate, income levels and graduation rate.

“That means if you weren’t a victim, your neighbor was,” Roadsnacks wrote of the top five communities. “That’s the true sign of a ghetto – poor, uneducated and dangerous.”

The authors said Edgewood is the least ghetto city they measured.

Find the top 100 ghetto communities in Maryland at the bottom of the Roadsnacks story.

»Patch file photo of Hyattsville street