While big cities like Baltimore offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Baltimore. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Baltimore without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Baltimore are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Baltimore area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Baltimore for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Baltimore? University Park ranks as the best suburb of Baltimore for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of University Park, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Baltimore ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Maryland:
The 10 Best Baltimore Suburbs To Live For 2024
1. University Park, MD
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Population: 2,610
Median Income: $191,205
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on University Park: Crime | Real Estate
University Park is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Baltimore area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome University Park.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $191,205 a year, which is the highest in the Baltimore region. And only 0.68% are out of work. Homes average more than $644,596 each.
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Population: 9,667
Median Income: $148,779
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.7%
More on Mount Airy: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Mount Airy is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Baltimore for 2024.
It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 3.05% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
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Here in Sykesville, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Baltimore metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Sykesville.
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Population: 57,922
Median Income: $138,797
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Bowie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Bowie ranks as the 4th best suburb of Baltimore for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Bowie and the schools are some of the best around.
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Coming in as the fifth best is Manchester.
Manchester gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the Baltimore area, where houses sell for an average of $425,271. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 40,719
Median Income: $97,219
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%
Poverty Rate: 10.6%
More on Annapolis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Annapolis is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.28%.
According to online reports, Annapolis is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Baltimore area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and a very nice place to visit. The attractions, dining, nearby Naval Academy, and numerous parks and overlooks are a nice for a family.
The small independent shops and restaurants are all fantastic. And the local seafood is a real treat.
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Population: 6,335
Median Income: $100,179
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.2%
More on Glenarden: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Glenarden.
Glenarden schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 28.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 29,581
Median Income: $92,035
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 10.6%
More on Laurel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Laurel is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 8.0% of people lack insurance, good for 10th in the area.
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Is ‘Everything Better In Berwyn Heights?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 6,278
Median Income: $87,454
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Hampstead: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Hampstead.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Baltimore for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Baltimore was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Baltimore.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 19 suburbs to evaluate around Baltimore.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 19 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Baltimore.” We’re lookin’ at you, University Park.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Baltimore suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Baltimore ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Baltimore are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Baltimore but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Maryland reading, check out:
Table: Best Baltimore Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University Park, MD | 2,610 | $191,205 | $644,596 |
| 2 | Mount Airy, MD | 9,667 | $148,779 | $575,869 |
| 3 | Sykesville, MD | 4,305 | $126,941 | $510,464 |
| 4 | Bowie, MD | 57,922 | $138,797 | $495,660 |
| 5 | Manchester, MD | 5,403 | $103,629 | $425,271 |
| 6 | Annapolis, MD | 40,719 | $97,219 | $571,003 |
| 7 | Glenarden, MD | 6,335 | $100,179 | $412,112 |
| 8 | Laurel, MD | 29,581 | $92,035 | $443,952 |
| 9 | Berwyn Heights, MD | 3,312 | $132,625 | $427,367 |
| 10 | Hampstead, MD | 6,278 | $87,454 | $397,582 |
| 11 | Hyattsville, MD | 20,851 | $90,329 | $396,591 |
| 12 | Landover Hills, MD | 2,118 | $100,739 | $355,664 |
| 13 | Riverdale Park, MD | 7,284 | $105,250 | $457,160 |
| 14 | Westminster, MD | 20,099 | $71,286 | $423,805 |
| 15 | New Carrollton, MD | 13,580 | $76,386 | $385,956 |
| 16 | College Park, MD | 34,416 | $76,973 | $418,488 |
| 17 | Aberdeen, MD | 16,422 | $74,555 | $314,123 |
| 18 | Greenbelt, MD | 24,646 | $82,019 | $273,558 |
| 19 | Bladensburg, MD | 9,574 | $58,619 | $315,966 |