Best Communities in Maryland for Homebuyers

November 7, 2017
Posted by: Mike Brown
Category: Study

A view from Knoxville, Maryland, a community that was recognized by LendEDU as the best town in the state for homebuyers.

The state of Maryland has adopted many nicknames, including the "Old Line State," the "Free State," the "Chesapeake Bay State," and "Little America" to name a few.

But to those that live in Maryland, the state is simply one thing: A great place to call home.

Although Maryland is one of the smallest states in the Union by area, it is one of the most densely populated. This is simply because everyone is trying to get a piece of the delicious real estate pie known as "Maryland."

Recent census data has credited Maryland with having the highest median household income of any state. Many attribute Maryland's high income levels to the Free State's close proximity to our nation's capital, Washington D.C., but the state is also a train ride away from other bustling economic centers like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. You can also point to Maryland's highly diversified economy, which features strong growth in sectors like manufacturing, services, and biotechnology.

It is evident that Maryland's economic promise has made it an extremely desirable place to live, but the Chesapeake Bay State also attracts residents through its impressive education system. Maryland's education system has been ranked number one in the country by sites like Education Week and The College Board. The state is also home to reputable higher education institutions like the University of Maryland, Towson University, the United States Naval Academy, and Loyola University - Maryland.

Economics and education are just two reasons why Maryland is a tremendous place to call home. The truth is that we could sit here for hours talking about the countless other reasons regarding why the Old Line State is a great place for homebuyers.

In the interest of saving your sanity and time, LendEDU will skip going through that list of reasons and just tell you the 100 Maryland communities that have become the very best for homebuyers. Using licensed data and a proprietary ranking method, we considered factors like projected population and income growth, value of property, and crime rate.

Continue reading to find out the 100 Maryland communities that have been recognized by LendEDU as the very best for those looking to purchase a home.

Interactive Table & Map Featuring Maryland's Best Communities for Homebuyers

Rank	City	County	Pop.	Inc.	Value	Crime	Score
1	Knoxville	Washington	36.00	14.20	13.80	18.40	82.40
2	Brunswick	Frederick	37.60	19.40	12.40	12.60	82.00
3	Great Mills	St. Mary's	34.80	15.20	18.80	11.20	80.00
4	Preston	Caroline	29.60	17.00	18.60	14.40	79.60
5	Charlotte Hall	Charles	29.20	16.20	12.40	20.00	77.80
6	Mechanicsville	St. Mary's	35.20	14.80	15.80	12.00	77.80
7	Highland	Howard	37.20	20.00	4.80	14.20	76.20
8	Leonardtown	St. Mary's	38.40	16.80	7.20	13.40	75.80
9	Fulton	Howard	39.60	19.80	0.60	15.00	75.00
10	Aberdeen	Harford	36.40	15.80	7.20	15.00	74.40
11	California	St. Mary's	39.20	5.40	16.60	12.60	73.80
12	Hagerstown	Washington	32.00	16.60	14.60	10.40	73.60
13	Waldorf	Charles	38.00	16.00	12.20	7.40	73.60
14	Ridgely	Caroline	30.80	18.00	14.80	10.00	73.60
15	Smithsburg	Washington	23.60	14.20	16.60	18.60	73.00
16	Indian Head	Charles	31.60	19.00	16.80	5.40	72.80
17	Greensboro	Caroline	31.60	7.80	19.60	13.60	72.60
18	North East	Cecil	38.80	9.20	11.00	13.40	72.40
19	New Market	Frederick	38.00	3.40	11.00	20.00	72.40
20	Chester	Queen Anne's	36.80	6.80	11.00	17.60	72.20
21	Hollywood	St. Mary's	37.60	4.80	14.80	15.00	72.20
22	Grasonville	Queen Anne's	30.00	17.80	7.20	17.00	72.00
23	Denton	Caroline	32.40	16.80	12.40	10.00	71.60
24	Lexington Park	St. Mary's	34.40	12.00	12.40	12.60	71.40
25	Ijamsville	Frederick	36.40	10.60	4.80	19.60	71.40
26	White Plains	Charles	39.20	18.20	4.80	9.00	71.20
27	Frederick	Frederick	36.00	16.80	7.20	10.60	70.60
28	Manchester	Carroll	31.20	9.40	12.40	17.60	70.60
29	Clear Spring	Washington	23.20	10.60	18.20	18.40	70.40
30	Boonsboro	Washington	27.20	13.40	11.00	18.40	70.00
31	Williamsport	Washington	23.20	15.00	13.80	18.00	70.00
32	Federalsburg	Caroline	28.80	12.60	20.00	8.40	69.80
33	Chesapeake City	Cecil	34.80	5.40	16.80	12.60	69.60
34	Hancock	Washington	26.40	12.40	18.20	11.80	68.80
35	Earleville	Cecil	33.20	18.40	1.80	15.00	68.40
36	Delmar	Wicomico	31.20	9.60	13.80	13.60	68.20
37	Keedysville	Washington	23.60	7.40	18.20	19.00	68.20
38	Elkton	Cecil	34.80	10.80	12.40	10.00	68.00
39	Grantsville	Garrett	12.40	18.80	17.60	19.20	68.00
40	Abingdon	Harford	22.00	11.20	16.80	17.40	67.40
41	Conowingo	Cecil	33.60	3.00	17.40	13.40	67.40
42	Edgewood	Harford	16.00	12.60	19.60	19.00	67.20
43	Hampstead	Carroll	22.80	12.00	13.80	18.60	67.20
44	Rising Sun	Cecil	34.00	4.60	14.80	13.60	67.00
45	Perryville	Cecil	35.20	10.20	8.40	12.80	66.60
46	Sharpsburg	Washington	24.40	13.00	17.60	11.60	66.60
47	Snow Hill	Worcester	28.00	3.80	16.80	18.00	66.60
48	Queenstown	Queen Anne's	30.40	10.80	9.60	15.60	66.40
49	Thurmont	Frederick	17.20	15.40	14.80	18.60	66.00
50	Lusby	Calvert	10.00	19.20	18.80	17.60	65.60
51	Port Deposit	Cecil	33.20	5.00	8.40	19.00	65.60
52	Stevensville	Queen Anne's	27.60	11.40	9.80	16.60	65.40
53	Pocomoke City	Worcester	28.40	8.60	17.20	11.00	65.20
54	Bryans Road	Charles	35.60	14.00	9.80	5.80	65.20
55	Prince Frederick	Calvert	28.40	18.40	1.80	16.00	64.60
56	Odenton	Anne Arundel	29.60	14.80	8.40	11.60	64.40
57	Centreville	Queen Anne's	34.00	5.80	11.00	13.40	64.20
58	Chesapeake Beach	Calvert	22.80	11.60	14.80	15.00	64.20
59	Finksburg	Carroll	26.40	13.20	7.20	17.00	63.80
60	Jefferson	Frederick	24.40	17.00	2.80	19.60	63.80
61	La Plata	Charles	32.80	9.80	12.40	8.60	63.60
62	Jessup	Howard	37.20	17.80	1.80	6.20	63.00
63	Saint Leonard	Calvert	14.00	12.80	18.00	18.00	62.80
64	Monrovia	Frederick	26.00	9.40	7.20	20.00	62.60
65	Newburg	Charles	24.00	17.40	15.80	5.00	62.20
66	Gaithersburg	Montgomery	27.60	16.00	1.40	16.80	61.80
67	Elkridge	Howard	38.40	7.40	6.40	9.20	61.40
68	Mount Airy	Frederick	30.00	2.40	9.80	19.20	61.40
69	Union Bridge	Frederick	21.20	7.40	14.80	18.00	61.40
70	Taneytown	Carroll	26.80	11.20	8.40	15.00	61.40
71	New Windsor	Carroll	21.60	12.20	9.80	17.40	61.00
72	Walkersville	Frederick	14.40	15.40	11.00	19.80	60.60
73	Fruitland	Wicomico	32.00	1.60	19.20	7.80	60.60
74	Rockville	Montgomery	26.80	15.80	1.60	16.20	60.40
75	Princess Anne	Somerset	25.60	13.20	18.20	3.40	60.40
76	Myersville	Frederick	20.40	15.20	4.80	19.60	60.00
77	Emmitsburg	Frederick	14.80	15.60	11.00	18.40	59.80
78	Hughesville	Charles	36.80	4.60	9.80	8.00	59.20
79	Germantown	Montgomery	22.40	18.00	8.40	10.20	59.00
80	Middletown	Frederick	22.40	7.00	9.80	19.80	59.00
81	Sykesville	Carroll	32.80	2.60	8.40	15.00	58.80
82	Port Republic	Calvert	24.80	7.60	9.80	16.60	58.80
83	Adamstown	Frederick	32.40	1.60	4.80	19.80	58.60
84	Frostburg	Allegany	14.00	8.20	18.80	17.00	58.00
85	Poolesville	Montgomery	24.00	15.60	8.40	10.00	58.00
86	Joppa	Harford	20.80	8.00	14.80	14.20	57.80
87	Parsonsburg	Wicomico	21.20	1.80	19.20	15.20	57.40
88	Westminster	Carroll	29.20	7.20	7.00	13.80	57.20
89	Jarrettsville	Harford	18.40	15.00	6.40	17.40	57.20
90	Berlin	Worcester	25.20	5.60	9.80	16.00	56.60
91	Trappe	Talbot	13.60	16.40	11.00	15.20	56.20
92	Owings	Calvert	19.60	14.40	5.80	16.20	56.00
93	Havre De Grace	Harford	30.40	12.40	6.40	6.20	55.40
94	Chestertown	Kent	20.40	18.60	7.20	9.20	55.40
95	Salisbury	Wicomico	30.00	4.20	16.40	4.00	54.60
96	Hurlock	Dorchester	16.40	10.00	19.80	8.20	54.40
97	Montgomery Village	Montgomery	9.20	17.40	11.00	16.60	54.20
98	Bel Air	Harford	16.00	10.00	12.40	15.60	54.00
99	Clarksburg	Montgomery	40.00	2.80	6.40	4.60	53.80
100	Curtis Bay	Baltimore	19.60	19.60	13.80	0.60	53.60

Methodology

The data that was used in this report has been licensed by LendEDU from the city-level database provided by Onboard Informatics. That database provided ZIP codes, city names, county names, and each of the relevant metrics that were used in this report, including population and income projections. In total, over 1,000 Maryland towns and cities were analyzed. A population cutoff was set at 3,000, meaning any community with a population below that number was eliminated from further analysis. In the end, 100 towns and cities in the state of Maryland made the final list.

The list of relevant metrics included median household income and five-year projected household income, median household sale price, current population levels and five-year projected population levels, and crime risk as an index score.

Those metrics listed above were used to determine the category scores for four unique categories. Each of the four category scores were summed together to get the final score, which was representative of a community's conduciveness to homebuyers.

Population Score (40-point weight, listed in table as "Pop.")

A population score on the high side indicated that residents were moving to the area thus making it more desirable and valuable, so higher population growth was viewed as a positive ranking factor. In order to determine each city's population score, the percent difference between the five-year population projection and the current population was calculated. Each percent difference was ranked on a percent scale against the entire field of cities and towns in Maryland. Each percent rank was multiplied by a weight of 40 points to find the population score for a respective city or town.

Income Score (20-point weight, listed in table as "Inc.")

A high income score meant that the median household income of an area was growing substantially. Higher income growth was seen as a positive factor when determining the rankings. The income score for a city was determined in the same manner as the population score; however, current household income and the five-year income projection were used during calculations.

Value Score (20-point weight, listed in table as "Value")

A high value score indicated that residents were making comparable incomes to the median value of a home in a respective area. A ratio closer to or above one was seen as a positive. Determining the value score was simple: divide the median household income by the median household sale price, setting up a value ratio. Each ratio was ranked on a percent scale against the field, and each percent rank was multiplied by a weight of 20 points to find each respective value score.

Crime Score (20-point weight, listed in table as "Crime")

A low crime index was considered a positive ranking factor, so communities with lower crime indexes were more likely to rank higher. For reference, the crime index is an integer value. A lower crime index means lower risk of overall crime. The national average crime index is 100. If an area has an index greater than 100, then the area has an above average risk of crime. If it is lower, then there is a lower risk of crime when compared to the national average. In order to find the crime score, the percent difference between a town or city’s given crime index and the national average was found. Each percent difference from the national average crime index was ranked on a percent scale against the field. Each percent rank was multiplied by its weight of 20 points for the crime score.

After each and every community in Maryland was given four category scores, the scores were summed together to determine the final score. A higher final score meant a better place for homebuyers and resulted in a higher ranking on the list and vice versa.

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