Talbot County, Maryland

Talbot County is a county in Maryland, United States, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake
Bay, about 40 miles southeast of Annapolis across the bay. It had a population of 37,526 at the
2020 census, an estimated 38,238 by 2025, and covers 477 square miles (1,240 km2) centred near
38°45′N 76°11′W.

Easton is the county seat; its postal code is 21601. The county holds 4 incorporated towns
and 2 unincorporated census-designated places, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is
24041.

Towns & Villages in Talbot County

Talbot County has 6 named places on record: 4 incorporated towns and 2 census-designated
places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. One town, Queen Anne, straddles the line
into Queen Anne’s County.

Queen Anne is the confusable pair to note here: its 192 residents live on both sides of the
Talbot–Queen Anne’s county line, which runs through the middle of town, so the
figure above counts the whole population rather than just the Talbot County share.

ZIP Codes

• 21601 — Easton (also serves 21606, an Easton PO box ZIP)
• 21671 — Tilghman Island
• 21673 — Trappe
• 21663 — Saint Michaels
• 21625 — Cordova
• 21654 — Oxford
• 21657 — Queen Anne

Several smaller crossroads communities scattered across the county — among them Bozman,
McDaniel, Neavitt, Royal Oak and Wittman — have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is
delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Talbot County sits at the heart of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a low, flat peninsula cut
deeply by tidal rivers and creeks draining into the Chesapeake Bay. Of its 477 square miles, only
269 are land; the other 208 square miles, 44 percent of the county, are water — giving
Talbot the third-smallest land area of any Maryland county despite one of its largest total
areas. The Choptank River forms most of the county’s southern boundary, and the Tred Avon
and Miles rivers cut deep, navigable inlets that shaped the county’s old shipping towns.

Queen Anne’s County lies to the north, Caroline County to the east, Dorchester County to
the south, and the open Chesapeake Bay to the west. Queen Anne’s County, Caroline County and Dorchester County all border Talbot
directly; only the bay lies to the west.

Demographics

Talbot County had a population of 37,526 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 38,238 residents. Easton is by far the largest community, holding close to half the
county’s population on its own; Trappe and Saint Michaels are the next two largest towns.
Median household income runs $84,811 (2024), below Maryland’s statewide median household
income of $98,678 (2023 ACS) by roughly $13,900. Population density works out to about 140
people per square mile of land, moderate for
the Eastern Shore and concentrated heavily around Easton and the river towns.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 2,506 people,
followed by retail trade at 1,867 and professional, scientific and technical services at 1,739.
University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton, a 112-bed hospital that opened in 1907, is
the county’s largest single health care employer. Shore United Bank, Maryland’s
fourth-largest bank, is headquartered in Easton. Tourism and the maritime trades anchor much of
the rest of the local economy: the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Saint Michaels draws
visitors to see historic vessels including the National Historic Landmark bugeye Edna E.
Lockwood, and Tilghman Island’s watermen still run working skipjacks, among them the
Rebecca T. Ruark, out of its harbor. Oxford runs the oldest privately operated ferry in
continuous use in the United States, the Oxford–Bellevue Ferry, across the Tred Avon River,
a crossing in service since 1683.

History

Talbot County was formed around 1661 out of the original Eastern Shore settlements, making it
one of Maryland’s oldest counties. It was named for Grace Talbot, sister of a Lord Baltimore, and wife of the Anglo-Irish
politician Sir Robert Talbot. Oxford, established
by the Maryland General Assembly as a seaport in 1683, served as one of only two official ports
of entry for the entire colony before the American Revolution.

The county was home to abolitionist Frederick Douglass, born enslaved on its Tuckahoe Creek
side; to Declaration of Independence signer Robert Morris Jr.; and to Tench Tilghman, aide-de-camp
to George Washington. Easton’s Hill neighborhood, settled by free Black residents from
around 1790, is documented as one of the earliest free Black communities in the United States,
with roughly 410 free people of color recorded there in the 1790 census.

Getting There

U.S. Route 50 is the county’s main highway, running the length of the Eastern Shore and
carrying most through traffic to and from Easton; no interstate crosses the county.

• Annapolis — about 40 miles northwest, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
• Salisbury — about 35 miles southeast
• Cambridge — about 15 miles south
• Chestertown — about 30 miles north

Easton Airport, a general aviation field just north of town, has no scheduled airline
service. Salisbury–Ocean City–Wicomico Regional Airport and Baltimore–Washington
International Airport are the nearest commercial airports. Amtrak does not serve the Eastern
Shore; the closest stations are across the bay in the Baltimore–Washington corridor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Talbot County located?
It sits on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, on the Chesapeake Bay, bordered by Queen Anne’s,
Caroline and Dorchester counties.

What is the population of Talbot County?
37,526 at the 2020 census, with an estimated 38,238 residents by 2025.

How big is Talbot County?
477 square miles (1,240 km2) in total, of which 269 square miles are land and 208 square miles
are water — 44 percent of the county.

What is the county seat of Talbot County?
Easton is the county seat, and its 17,101 residents make it by far the county’s largest
town.

How many towns are in Talbot County?
Four incorporated towns — Easton, Oxford, Saint Michaels, Trappe and Queen Anne (partly)
— plus two census-designated places: Tilghman Island and Cordova.

What ZIP codes does Talbot County use?
21601 and 21606 for Easton; 21663 for Saint Michaels; 21654 for Oxford; 21673 for Trappe; 21671
for Tilghman Island; 21625 for Cordova; and 21657 for Queen Anne.

What is Talbot County known for?
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Saint Michaels, the historic Oxford–Bellevue Ferry,
and Tilghman Island’s working skipjack fleet.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Maryland.