You probably won’t find these places featured on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but Maryland’s richest places house many of the state’s super wealthy.
Yes, The Old Line State has the finest blue crab cakes, some super rich housewives in Potomac, and, now, HomeSnacks’ list of the top ten richest places for 2023.
How do you get your hands on one of these Maryland gems? Well, a couple of things are going to have to fall into place for you. First, you are going to need a high paying job: one that pays on average $82,098/year. Although, to make this dream a reality, you might want to bring a job to the table: currently, there are not many high paying jobs within a short driving distance of the top ten places. Incidentally, the highest paying jobs in the state are in healthcare and tech and the state’s overall unemployment rate is below the national average.
The upside to living the Maryland dream, however, once you get settled in one of the state’s richest places, you will be able to experience all of the posh features that this state has to offer. Like, the Michelin Star restaurants in Rockville, season passes to the Baltimore Ravens, and/or five star weekends in Annapolis.
Whatever you decide, don’t make any major life changing decisions until you take a gander at the list of Maryland’s richest places below.
Here are the 10 richest places in Maryland for 2023:
It was quite a feat to narrow down the richest places in Little America. The state is, after all, one of the richest states in the country. So, to cut down our list, we looked at the latest Census data from the American Community Survey for 42 Maryland cities with more than 5,000 residents. And, folks, the number one richest place in Maryland does not disappoint.
So, what is the richest place in Maryland for 2023? That would be, Walkersville.
To see a list of the rest of Maryland’s richest places, hit that down arrow. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, head to the bottom.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Maryland:
The 10 Richest Cities In Maryland For 2023
1. Walkersville
/10
Population: 6,134
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $114,340
Unemployment Rate: 1.1%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Walkersville: Real Estate | Photos
2. Mount Airy
/10
Population: 9,621
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $136,250
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Mount Airy: Real Estate | Photos
3. Chesapeake Beach
/10
Population: 6,303
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $120,194
Unemployment Rate: 1.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Chesapeake Beach: Real Estate | Photos
4. Poolesville
/10
Population: 5,666
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $201,607
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 0.5%
More on Poolesville: Real Estate | Photos
5. La Plata
/10
Population: 10,054
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $108,043
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on La Plata: Real Estate | Photos
6. Manchester
/10
Population: 5,350
Rank Last Year: –
Median Income: $97,000
Unemployment Rate: 1.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Manchester: Real Estate | Photos
7. Rockville
/10
Population: 67,095
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $116,031
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Rockville: Real Estate | Photos
8. Bowie
/10
Population: 58,113
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $127,029
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Bowie: Real Estate | Photos
9. Glenarden
/10
Population: 6,341
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Income: $91,467
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Glenarden: Real Estate
10. Thurmont
/10
Population: 6,247
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $82,098
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Thurmont: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In Maryland For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 42 places with more than 5,000 people in Maryland, we ranked each place from 1 to 42 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Walkersville, crowned the “Richest City In Maryland For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 42 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In Maryland For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Maryland, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Maryland.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Maryland, according to data:
Poorest: Frostburg
2nd Poorest: Hagerstown
3rd Poorest: Cambridge
For more Maryland reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Maryland
Rank | City | RichScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Walkersville | 3.33 |
2 | Mount Airy | 4.0 |
3 | Chesapeake Beach | 4.0 |
4 | Poolesville | 5.0 |
5 | La Plata | 5.33 |
6 | Manchester | 6.0 |
7 | Rockville | 8.0 |
8 | Bowie | 9.0 |
9 | Glenarden | 13.0 |
10 | Thurmont | 14.0 |
11 | Takoma Park | 14.67 |
12 | Hyattsville | 15.67 |
13 | Havre De Grace | 16.0 |
14 | Cheverly | 17.0 |
15 | Easton | 17.67 |
16 | Annapolis | 18.33 |
17 | Riverdale Park | 18.67 |
18 | Taneytown | 18.67 |
19 | Brunswick | 19.33 |
20 | Hampstead | 20.0 |
21 | Ocean City | 20.33 |
22 | Laurel | 20.33 |
23 | Gaithersburg | 20.33 |
24 | Frederick | 22.33 |
25 | Aberdeen | 23.0 |
26 | Mount Rainier | 24.0 |
27 | New Carrollton | 24.67 |
28 | Westminster | 26.0 |
29 | Bel Air | 26.67 |
30 | Greenbelt | 28.67 |
31 | Cheste | 30.33 |
32 | College Park | 30.67 |
33 | Bladensburg | 31.33 |
34 | District Heights | 32.67 |
35 | Elkton | 33.0 |
36 | Fruitland | 34.67 |
37 | Baltimore | 35.0 |
38 | Cumberland | 37.33 |
39 | Salisbury | 38.0 |
40 | Cambridge | 38.33 |
41 | Hagerstown | 38.67 |
42 | Frostburg | 39.0 |