The 2026 Prince George’s County Quality of Life Index® Is Published
New Report Indicates Home Sales Boom, Decreased Crime, Small Business Growth
By Raoul Dennis
The 2026 Prince George’s County Quality of Life Index was released this month.
The county saw a significant drop in every major crime category last year, with homicides, robberies, and carjackings all falling by at least 40%. The homicide figure marks A seven-year low, and burglaries were under 1,000 for the first time in decades. Watching crime drop as the county grows in population speaks volumes about the work being done here. The county also saw the highest number of public-school students enrolling in college in the last decade.
The Prince George’s County Quality of Life Index® is a data-based report published by the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable to track how well the county serves its residents and how its conditions change over time. Its fifth edition, released in May 2023, also compares selected county measures with those of other Maryland jurisdictions. The Roundtable describes the index as a “living document” that it intends to update as issues and available data change. Read the 2023 index
What the Prince George’s Quality of Life Index Measures
The report organizes its measures into six areas: economy, education, parks and recreation, public safety, transportation, and health. Its charts bring together figures from sources including state agencies, the U.S. Census Bureau, county departments and public health programs. Readers can follow measures such as employment, home prices, graduation rates, crime, commute times and access to physicians across multiple years. Source: 2023 index.
For business leaders, those figures put investment decisions in a broader context. A growing tax base may signal commercial strength, while long commutes can point to opportunities for more jobs closer to home. Education and health measures speak to the workforce a company hopes to recruit and retain. Public safety, transportation and parks also shape how attractive a location is to employees, customers and residents.
The index gives policymakers and employers a common set of facts for discussing priorities and measuring progress. It can show where the county has improved, where challenges persist and how Prince George’s compares with its neighbors. Readers should check the date attached to each measure: the 2023 edition draws on data collected in different years, so its charts are a historical benchmark rather than a snapshot of conditions today. That distinction makes the index most useful as a starting point for questions, planning and accountability.
“This document continues to break down rhetoric and assumptions and replaces them with facts and information,” the report notes. “So the county residents and our elected officials can determine where the county is doing well and also observe areas where it can improve, with a nonpartisan approach dedicated only to making Prince George's County the best place to live, work, and play in the region. Prince George's County is moving forward, together, and our story's worth telling. We at the Business Roundtable are honored to be able to present this information to you.”
The 2026 Index will be available in October 2026 at www.bizroundtable.org.
The last Index was published in 2023, at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
