Baltimore–Columbia–Towson

58 cities and suburbs across Baltimore, each scored out of 100 on the same national scales. The metro's median home is $391,300 and its mean commute 29.4 min. Scaggsville scores highest overall at 74. Columbia leads on schools, Lochearn leads on cost of living.

Places

Median score

Poll responses

Matthew Binebrink · CC BY-SA 4.0

Baltimore →

Powerhawk5k · CC0

Columbia →

Scott Saghirian · CC BY 2.0

Ellicott City →

Coverage

58 places
in Baltimore

One of 50 metros graded so far, on the same national scales.

10 mi

20 mi

30 mi

Downtown Baltimore

Downtown Columbia

Scaggsville

Ellicott City

North Laurel

Annapolis

Severna Park

Annapolis Neck

Mays Chapel

Parole

Eldersburg

Bel Air North

Towson

Arnold

Crofton

Bel Air South

Glen Burnie

Odenton

White Marsh

Severn

Ferndale

Arbutus

Maryland City

Westminster

Perry Hall

Brooklyn Park

Havre de Grace

Bel Air

Parkville

Woodlawn

Owings Mills

Aberdeen

Cockeysville

Rossville

Middle River

Dundalk

Reisterstown

Essex

Randallstown

Milford Mill

Dot size = overall scoreA B C D Positions plotted from place centroids · rings measured from Downtown Baltimore

Every suburb of Baltimore, ranked

#	Place	Score	Hous	Scho	Cost	Comm	Amen	Empl	Resi
1	Scaggsville	74 B	A	A	D+	C−	C	A−	—
2	Ellicott City	72 B−	B−	A−	C	C	B+	B	—
3	Columbia	71 B−	C	A	C+	C	B	B−	—
4	Ilchester	71 B−	B−	A	C	C	C−	B+	—
5	North Laurel	69 B−	C	A	C+	C−	C	B+	—
6	Linthicum	68 B−	C+	C+	B−	B−	C	B	—
7	Elkridge	67 C+	C	A	C+	C	D+	B−	—
8	Annapolis	67 C+	C	C+	B	C−	A−	C+	—
9	Severna Park	66 C+	B	C	C+	C−	C+	B+	—
10	Annapolis Neck	66 C+	B+	C+	C	D+	D+	B+	—
11	Mays Chapel	66 C+	C+	D+	B	B−	A−	C+	—
12	Parole	66 C+	C+	C+	B−	C−	B+	C+	—
13	Eldersburg	65 C+	B−	B+	B	F	C+	B	—
14	Bel Air North	65 C+	C+	C+	B	F	B	B	—
15	Timonium	65 C+	C+	D+	B−	B−	A−	C	—
16	Towson	64 C+	D+	D+	B+	B−	A	C−	—
17	Arnold	63 C+	B	C	C	C−	C−	B+	—
18	Crofton	63 C+	B−	C−	C+	D−	B−	B+	—
19	Pasadena	63 C+	B−	C+	B	D−	D+	B+	—
20	Bel Air South	63 C+	C	C+	B−	D	B−	B−	—
21	Catonsville	63 C+	C−	D+	B−	B−	B+	C	—
22	Glen Burnie	63 C+	D	C+	B+	C−	B	C−	—
23	Odenton	62 C	C	C	B−	D	C+	B+	—
24	White Marsh	62 C	C	D+	B	D	A−	B−	—
25	Severn	62 C	C+	C+	B	C−	D+	B−	—
26	Ferndale	62 C	D+	C+	C+	C	B+	C−	—
27	Fort Meade	62 C	D−	C+	—	B	C+	B−	—
28	Pikesville	61 C	C−	D+	B−	B−	B−	C−	—
29	Arbutus	61 C	D	D+	A−	C+	C+	C+	—
30	Maryland City	61 C	C	C+	C+	D+	C+	C+	—
31	Westminster	61 C	D−	B+	B	D	B	D+	—
32	Perry Hall	60 C	C−	D+	B	D	B	B−	—
33	Brooklyn Park	60 C	D	B−	B	D+	B−	D+	—
34	Havre de Grace	60 C	D+	C+	B−	C	C−	C	—
35	Joppatowne	60 C	C	B−	B	F	C−	B−	—
36	Bel Air	59 C	D−	C+	B+	D	B+	D+	—
37	Honeygo	59 C	B	D	C−	D−	C	B	—
38	Parkville	59 C	D−	C−	B	C	A−	D+	—
39	Woodlawn	59 C	D−	D+	A−	C	B+	D	—
40	Owings Mills	59 C	D	D+	B+	D+	B+	C	—
41	Overlea	58 C	D−	C−	B+	C−	B+	D+	—
42	Riviera Beach	58 C	C	C	B	D−	D−	B−	—
43	Fallston	57 C−	B+	C	C+	F	F	B	—
44	Carney	57 C−	D	D+	B+	D	B−	C−	—
45	Lake Shore	57 C−	B−	C	B	F	F	C+	—
46	Aberdeen	57 C−	F	B−	B+	D+	C+	D	—
47	Cockeysville	56 C−	D−	D+	B−	C	B+	D+	—
48	Rossville	56 C−	D−	D+	B−	D−	A−	C	—
49	Rosedale	56 C−	D	C−	B+	D+	B	D−	—
50	Middle River	55 C−	D−	D+	B	D	B−	D+	—
51	Edgewood	55 C−	F	B−	B+	D−	B−	D−	—
52	Dundalk	54 C−	F	C−	B+	C	A−	F	—
53	Lochearn	54 C−	F	C−	A−	D	C+	D−	—
54	Reisterstown	53 C−	D+	D+	B	D+	C	F	—
55	Essex	51 D+	F	D+	B+	D	B−	F	—
56	Randallstown	50 D+	D	D+	B	F	C−	D−	—
57	Baltimore	50 D+	F	F	B	C−	A+	F	—
58	Milford Mill	48 D+	F	D+	B	D−	C−	D−	—

— for Residents: fewer than 8 poll responses, so the category is not yet counted. Those places' overall scores are computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. 58 of 58 are currently below the threshold.

Six Baltimore lists

Best Baltimore suburbs for families Most affordable Baltimore suburbs Best Baltimore suburbs for schools Shortest commutes to Downtown Baltimore Most walkable Baltimore suburbs Best Baltimore suburbs for young professionals

8 head-to-heads

Baltimore vs Brooklyn Park Columbia vs Scaggsville Ellicott City vs Catonsville Glen Burnie vs Pasadena Dundalk vs Essex Towson vs Parkville Severn vs Fort Meade Bel Air South vs Bel Air

5 guides

What "median home value" hides when you compare suburbsWhat a school proficiency percentile actually measuresWhat a two-mile amenity count can and cannot seeReading an effective property tax rateWhat the scores deliberately do not coverAll guides →