Best PlacesBaltimore County, MD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Baltimore County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Baltimore County ranks 873rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $102,860, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are taxes, childcare costs, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Baltimore County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Baltimore County
The parts of Baltimore County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Perry Hall
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Towson, Cockeysville & Carney
More adults hold degrees and schools score higher.
Parkville
More households have young kids and transit reaches more jobs.
Catonsville, Woodlawn & Arbutus
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Owings Mills & Reisterstown
Tree cover is thicker, though homes cost more.
Middle River, Rosedale & Rossville
Scores close to Owings Mills & Reisterstown, except that health care is harder to reach here.
Randallstown, Milford Mill & Pikesville
Scores close to Middle River, Rosedale & Rossville, except that heat risk is higher here.
Dundalk & Essex
Fewer residents vote and health outcomes score lower.
Lansdowne, Baltimore Highlands & Halethorpe
Streets are more walkable.
Baltimore County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 3%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Baltimore County's strengths and weaknesses
Baltimore County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Transit and what local pay buys follow.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and state infrastructure also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Baltimore County to another than it does between Baltimore County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Baltimore County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of counties
- TransitBetter than 96% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$102,860 median, better than 93% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of counties
Where Baltimore County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,377 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Baltimore County
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Baltimore County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $102,860, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Baltimore County's effective rate of 1.01%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Baltimore County
Baltimore County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Baltimore County.
Who works in Baltimore County, and how
Work in Baltimore County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Baltimore County
Baltimore County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 65% of counties. The coast is about 19 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Baltimore County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Baltimore County growing, and who is moving in?
Baltimore County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Baltimore, MD metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Baltimore County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Baltimore County, month by month
Baltimore County sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 39° | 33° |
| April | 68° | 59° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 71° | 63° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Baltimore County
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall sits about 14 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.3 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Baltimore County
Schools across Baltimore County average a C−, better than 20% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Carroll Manor ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Pinewood ElementaryA · 64% proficient
- Riderwood ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hereford MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Ridgely MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Dumbarton MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Western School Of TechnologyA · 75% proficient
- Mount Hebron HighA · 74% proficient
- Eastern Technical High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Baltimore County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Baltimore County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Baltimore County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Baltimore County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Baltimore County
Is Baltimore County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Baltimore County ranks 873rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and what local pay buys, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Baltimore County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $371,634. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $102,860 median income, cost of living beats 94% of counties.
Is Baltimore County safe?
Baltimore County is safer than 18% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $463 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Baltimore County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 33. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 53% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Baltimore County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Perry Hall, Towson, Cockeysville & Carney, and Parkville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Baltimore County good for families?
Schools beat 20% of counties, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $1,377 a month.
Is Baltimore County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 60% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Baltimore County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Baltimore County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Baltimore County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Baltimore County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Baltimore County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Baltimore County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Baltimore County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Baltimore County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Baltimore County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.