Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Maryland a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Maryland.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Old Line State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Maryland, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 24 counties in the state.
Calvert County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Maryland. And you should avoid Baltimore city if you can — at least according to the data.
$133,922 median income · 2.7% unemployment
$149,763 median income · 3.5% unemployment
$118,211 median income · 3.5% unemployment
$124,911 median income · 3.7% unemployment
$122,002 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$112,265 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$122,816 median income · 4.8% unemployment
$112,826 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$119,446 median income · 3.6% unemployment
$84,811 median income · 4.3% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maryland’s statewide median.
Maryland statewide median: $103,678
Maryland statewide median: $429,705
Maryland statewide median: 4.9%
On the map
Where Maryland’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Maryland county is the best?
To give you the best county in Maryland, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in Maryland across each of the criteria from one to 24, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Maryland.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Old Line State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Maryland.
Read on to see why Calvert County is the best county, while Baltimore city is probably in contention for being the worst county in Maryland.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Maryland
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calvert County | 94,313 | $133,922 | $483,001 |
| 2 | Howard County | 336,328 | $149,763 | $636,618 |
| 3 | Carroll County | 175,321 | $118,211 | $490,460 |
| 4 | Anne Arundel County | 598,166 | $124,911 | $505,792 |
| 5 | Frederick County | 287,048 | $122,002 | $503,055 |
| 6 | Harford County | 263,757 | $112,265 | $416,736 |
| 7 | Charles County | 170,527 | $122,816 | $450,316 |
| 8 | Queen Anne’s County | 51,825 | $112,826 | $473,504 |
| 9 | St. Mary’s County | 115,126 | $119,446 | $417,118 |
| 10 | Talbot County | 37,917 | $84,811 | $493,297 |
| 11 | Montgomery County | 1,065,949 | $132,450 | $622,527 |
| 12 | Kent County | 19,346 | $80,147 | $382,205 |
| 13 | Worcester County | 53,700 | $81,745 | $422,344 |
| 14 | Cecil County | 104,960 | $92,007 | $379,572 |
| 15 | Baltimore County | 850,796 | $91,768 | $360,187 |
| 16 | Garrett County | 28,615 | $67,688 | $333,182 |
| 17 | Prince George’s County | 959,754 | $101,798 | $435,947 |
| 17 | Washington County | 155,709 | $77,747 | $327,979 |
| 19 | Allegany County | 67,452 | $59,603 | $151,212 |
| 20 | Somerset County | 24,822 | $64,943 | $204,515 |
| 21 | Wicomico County | 104,914 | $76,210 | $273,211 |
| 22 | Caroline County | 33,669 | $68,457 | $328,465 |
| 23 | Dorchester County | 32,754 | $61,839 | $274,401 |
| 24 | Baltimore city | 573,243 | $62,177 | $234,961 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 24 Maryland counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Maryland To Call Home For 2026
Living in Maryland can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Maryland are Calvert County, Howard County, Carroll County, Anne Arundel County, Frederick County, Harford County, Charles County, Queen Anne’s County, St. Mary’s County, and Talbot County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
