NAS Patuxent River is in Saint Marys County, Maryland, which is not near any major city. Saint Marys County has about 109,000 people, and the communities of California and Lexington Park, each with about 12,000 people, and Saint Mary's City. The county seat is Leonardtown, with a population of about 3,000. Other nearby small communities include the southernmost communities of Calvert County (across the Patuxent River), Solomons, Johnstown, and Dowell. Most of the county lives in small unincorporated communities.

It is about 8 miles from California to NAS Patuxent River, which takes about 14 minutes to commute, and 4 miles / 7 minutes from Lexington Park, although housing may be available throughout the county. The average commute in Saint Marys County is about 30 minutes.

Major local employers include businesses related to NAS Pax, and a fairly large number of residents work in the Washington DC metro area.

Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Saint Mary's area ranges from $900 to $1700 per month, with a median of about $1200 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in Saint Mary's in the last few years was about $320,000, the same as the average for Maryland.

Short Description of the Area: Saint Mary's County is a fairly small county with a small population in Southern Maryland, at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. This is a warm, humid area of Maryland, and one of the first settled counties of the English Colonies, and has an involved history, too long to cover here. Saint Mary's County was originally founded as a haven for religious minorities, in 1637, and is considered one of the cradles of religious freedom in the Americas. Saint Mary's also happens to be the birthplace of Dashiell Hammett, the creator of the hard-boiled detective character and genre, Sam Spade, the Continental Op, and Nick and Nora Charles.

Climate and Weather: The area has a warm, humid climate, winter temperatures of the mid 40s to mid 20s and summer temperatures in the high 80s to high 60s. The area has generally temperate weather with occasional moderate storms, and in summer fairly frequent thunderstorms. Summers are generally warm with periods of rain. Winters are mild with periods of rain; snow is rare near the coast.