Caroline County is a county in Maryland, United States, on the Eastern Shore, the only Eastern Shore county that touches neither the Chesapeake Bay nor the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population of 33,293 at the 2020 census and covers 326 square miles (840 km2), of which 319 square miles (830 km2) is land and 6.5 square miles (17 km2) is water — Maryland’s second-smallest county by total area, centred near 38°53′N 75°50′W.
Denton is the county seat, and its postal code is 21629. The county has 10 incorporated towns, 3 census-designated places, and dozens of unincorporated crossroads communities. It sits in the Eastern time zone; its FIPS code is 24011.
Towns & Villages in Caroline County
Thirteen named places have their own census status in Caroline County — 10 incorporated towns and 3 census-designated places (CDPs). The rest of the county, roughly nine-tenths of its area, is unincorporated: farmland, crossroads hamlets, and rural subdivisions carried on county maps but never separately governed.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denton | Town · seat | 4,168 | 21629 |
| Federalsburg | Town | 2,741 | 21632 |
| Greensboro | Town | 2,262 | 21639 |
| Ridgely | Town | 1,663 | 21660 |
| Preston | Town | — | 21655 |
| Marydel | Town | — | 21649 |
| Hillsboro | Town | — | 21641 |
| Goldsboro | Town | — | 21636 |
| Henderson | Town | — | 21640 |
| Templeville | Town | — | 21670 |
| Choptank | CDP | — | — |
| West Denton | CDP | — | — |
| Williston | CDP | — | — |
Two of the towns straddle a line: Marydel sits directly on the Maryland–Delaware border, with a second Marydel across the state line in Kent County, Delaware, and Templeville sits on the Caroline–Queen Anne’s County line. Both are counted here as Caroline places by their historic center and post office.
Beyond the incorporated towns and CDPs, Caroline County’s rural landscape carries a long list of named crossroads, farmsteads, and subdivisions on maps and GNIS records, including Agner, American Corner, Andersontown, Anthony, Asbury, Baltimore Corner, Belmont Acres, Bethlehem, Bloomery, Boonsboro, Bradley Heights, Bridgetown, Buckels Corner, Bureau, Burrsville, Calvert Acres, Cleaves Fork, Concord, Country Club Estates, Country Life Acres, Downes, Everlea, Fairways, Federalsburg Estates, Four Corners, Fox Field, Foxgrape Farm, Griffin, Grove, Harmony, Hickman, Hillsboro Estates, Hobbs, Holly Corner, Holly Hill Estates, Hopeland Acres, Hynson, Jonestown, Jumptown, Kane Crossroads, Legion Heights, Linchester, Lor-J Estates, Lyford Landing, Lynn Woods, Maple Village, Meadowbrook Court, Meadowbrook Park, Melville Crossroads, Mount Zion, New Hope, Newton, Nichols, Oakland, Oakland Acres, Oil City, Passapae Landing, Pealiquor Landing, Potters Landing, Prettyman Manor, Providence Landing, Ridgely Acres, Riding Acres, Riverview Gardens, Sewell Mills, Smith Landing, Smithville, Spring Branch, Stafford Heights, Tanyard, Tanyard Estates, The Plains, Thomas Town, Trinity, Tuckahoe Springs, Two Johns, Union Corner, West View, Whiteleysburg, Williams Heights, and Wrights Wharf. A handful of the old county listing’s entries were near-duplicate spellings (Lyn Woods/Lynn Woods, Union Corner/Union Corners) or mobile-home-park names shared with a nearby town; those have been merged or dropped rather than listed twice.
ZIP Codes
- 21629 — Denton (also serves West Denton)
- 21632 — Federalsburg
- 21636 — Goldsboro
- 21639 — Greensboro
- 21640 — Henderson
- 21641 — Hillsboro
- 21649 — Marydel
- 21655 — Preston
- 21660 — Ridgely
- 21670 — Templeville
Smaller crossroads communities generally share the ZIP of their nearest town rather than carrying their own postal code.
Geography
Caroline County lies flat and low, drained by the Choptank River along its southern edge and by Tuckahoe Creek, a Choptank tributary, through its center; the man-made Williston Lake sits on the Choptank near Denton. The land is mostly farmland — corn, soybeans, and vegetables on the well-drained loams typical of the Delmarva Peninsula — with wooded stream bottoms along the creeks. The American Discovery Trail crosses the county.
Caroline County borders Queen Anne’s County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, and Kent County and Sussex County, Delaware, to the east. Of these, only Dorchester County currently has a live profile on this site; Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and the two Delaware counties are named here without a link because no matching page for them is live yet.
Demographics
Caroline County had 33,293 residents at the 2020 census, a density of roughly 104 people per square mile. Denton and Federalsburg are its two largest towns. Median household income in the county runs well below the Maryland median of $98,678, reflecting its rural, agriculture-based economy and its distance from the Baltimore-Washington job market.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture and food processing anchor the local economy: grain, soybean, and vegetable farms feed the Delmarva Peninsula’s broiler-chicken industry, and poultry processing is one of the county’s largest private employers. Caroline County government, Caroline County Public Schools, and the county’s hospital-affiliated health services are the other major employers. Denton hosts the county fairgrounds and the annual Caroline County Fair, a longstanding late-summer draw for the rural county.
History
Caroline County was formed in 1774 by an act of the Maryland colonial assembly, carved from parts of Dorchester and Queen Anne’s counties. It was named for Lady Caroline Eden, wife of Robert Eden, Maryland’s last colonial governor. The county courthouse in Denton was completed in 1797 and still serves as the seat of county government. Caroline County adopted home rule in 1984, moving from state-controlled commissioner government to local self-governance. The National Park Service has worked to interpret Underground Railroad history connected to the county, part of the network of Eastern Shore routes associated with Harriet Tubman, who was born in neighboring Dorchester County.
Getting There
US Route 404 crosses the county east–west toward the Delaware beaches, and US Route 313 and Maryland Routes 16 and 20 provide the main north–south and local connections.
- Easton — 20 miles southwest
- Salisbury — 35 miles south
- Dover, Delaware — 25 miles northeast
- Annapolis — 45 miles west
The nearest commercial airport is Salisbury–Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport; Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is roughly 90 miles away and offers wider service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Caroline County, Maryland?
It is on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, bordered by Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and Dorchester counties in Maryland and by Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware to the east.
What is the population of Caroline County?
33,293 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Caroline County?
326 square miles (840 km2) total, of which 319 square miles is land — Maryland’s second-smallest county by area.
What is the county seat of Caroline County?
Denton is the county seat.
How many towns are in Caroline County?
Ten incorporated towns — Denton, Federalsburg, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Henderson, Hillsboro, Marydel, Preston, Ridgely, and Templeville — plus three census-designated places.
What ZIP codes are in Caroline County?
Ten ZIP codes serve the county, from 21629 (Denton) to 21670 (Templeville); see the ZIP Codes section above.
Does Caroline County touch the Chesapeake Bay?
No — it is the only Eastern Shore county that touches neither the Chesapeake Bay nor the Atlantic Ocean.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Maryland.