Maryland cities

The best places to live in Maryland

Maryland's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Bel Air North leads the list.

We scored Maryland's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
12 Columbia $399,000 $1,795 67 76
21 Ellicott City $564,900 $1,727 52 66
23 Germantown $357,100 $1,822 62 63
28 Rockville $554,800 $1,994 48 59
30 Gaithersburg $427,400 $1,811 43 58
35 Glen Burnie $276,000 $1,406 58 56
65 Waldorf $319,300 $1,740 58 40
66 Frederick $289,000 $1,478 42 40
77 Baltimore $175,300 $1,146 36 32
80 Silver Spring $537,600 $1,736 24 30

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Maryland. Updated 2026.