Is Maryland a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#8

8th out of 50 states overall.

Better than most states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#36

36th cheapest state, about 9% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $82,000 here.

How we measure cost ›

Maryland ranks 8th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 36th for affordability. It does best on walkability, education, and healthcare, and struggles most with dog friendly, green space, and cost. A typical household earns about $103,000 a year, and the cost of living runs about 9% above average.

Why Maryland ranks #8 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Maryland scores on each, best to worst.

Walkability
#6 of 50
Education
#10 of 50
Healthcare
#11 of 50
Climate
#12 of 50
Economy
#19 of 50
Safety
#20 of 50
Air quality
#24 of 50
Dog friendly
#28 of 50
Green space
#34 of 50
Cost of living
#36 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Maryland at a glance

Typical household income

$103,000

3rd highest

Typical home price

$432,000

16th highest

Overall cost of living

9% above average

36th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 9%

16th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 32 min

one way

Taxes in Maryland

See your real Maryland take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Maryland taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.