Olney, MD — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

Montgomery County · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria · population 35,820

Small-town feel
View watchlist →
60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Olney stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $671,045
1-year -0.2%
5-yr CAGR +3.0%
vs 5-yr peak -0.3%

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-05$671k$435k$524k$612k$700k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
67/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 20.7
Lean rent

At a 20.7 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Olney. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
49 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
53 · w22%
Distance from peak
88 · w18%
Home 10-yr CAGR
51 · w10%
Long thesis

Olney has held up across the cycle: home values at $671,045 with +3.0% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Olney's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Olney

Olney is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, with an estimated population of 35,820. It anchors the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. The median home value in Olney is $671,045 as of 2026-04, down 0.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.0% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Olney average $2,696 per month. The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Held the highs: currently -0.3% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
The data is the data: Olney has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

Bear case

Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Montgomery County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Montgomery County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Olney

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
42° / 25°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 68°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
203
~56% of year
Annual precip
44″ rain
18″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Olney listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
68%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$98,500
Maryland state median
Top industries (state-level)
Government/DefenseBiotechHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Olney

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all Maryland cities →    Browse best-of lists →