These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Maryland For 2018

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 places 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 helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Maryland, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 20 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Old Line State for 2018:

1. Queen Anne’s County
2. Carroll County (Photos)
3. Charles County (Photos)
4. Anne Arundel County (Photos)
5. Frederick County (Photos)
6. Harford County (Photos)
7. Montgomery County (Photos)
8. Talbot County (Photos)
9. Worcester County (Photos)
10. Kent County

Queen Anne’S County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Maryland. And you might want to avoid Somerset County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Maryland, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Maryland and the best places to raise a family in Maryland.

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 need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time 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 20, 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, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Old Line State.

Read on to see why Queen Anne’S County is the best county, while Somerset County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Maryland.

1. Queen Anne’s County

Biggest Place: Stevensville
Population: 48,712
Median Income: $85,891 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $343,900 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (1st best)
More on Queen Anne’s County:

2. Carroll County

Biggest Place: Eldersburg
Population: 167,535
Median Income: $87,060 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $324,300 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (2nd best)
More on Carroll County: Photos | Data

3. Charles County

Biggest Place: Waldorf
Population: 154,357
Median Income: $91,373 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $287,600 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (3rd best)
More on Charles County: Photos | Data

4. Anne Arundel County

Biggest Place: Glen Burnie
Population: 559,737
Median Income: $91,918 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $338,500 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (5th best)
More on Anne Arundel County: Photos | Data

5. Frederick County

Biggest Place: Frederick
Population: 243,465
Median Income: $85,715 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $306,100 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (4th best)
More on Frederick County: Photos | Data

6. Harford County

Biggest Place: Bel Air South
Population: 249,776
Median Income: $81,052 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $278,100 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (9th best)
More on Harford County: Photos | Data

7. Montgomery County

Biggest Place: Germantown
Population: 1,026,371
Median Income: $100,352 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $460,100 (1st best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (8th best)
More on Montgomery County: Photos | Data

8. Talbot County

Biggest Place: Easton
Population: 37,668
Median Income: $61,395 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $320,500 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (9th best)
More on Talbot County: Photos | Data

9. Worcester County

Biggest Place: Ocean Pines
Population: 51,441
Median Income: $57,227 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $243,600 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (14th best)
More on Worcester County: Photos | Data

10. Kent County

Biggest Place: Cheste
Population: 19,819
Median Income: $55,028 (13th best)
Median Home Price: $238,800 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.6% (6th best)
More on Kent County: Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Maryland To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Maryland can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Maryland according to the data:

1. Somerset County
2. Baltimore City
3. Allegany County

For more Maryland reading, check out:

• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Maryland
• 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Maryland
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Maryland
• 10 Safest Places In Maryland

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Maryland

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Queen Anne’s County	1	48,712	$85,891	$343,900
Carroll County	2	167,535	$87,060	$324,300
Charles County	3	154,357	$91,373	$287,600
Anne Arundel County	4	559,737	$91,918	$338,500
Frederick County	5	243,465	$85,715	$306,100
Harford County	6	249,776	$81,052	$278,100
Montgomery County	7	1,026,371	$100,352	$460,100
Talbot County	8	37,668	$61,395	$320,500
Worcester County	9	51,441	$57,227	$243,600
Kent County	10	19,819	$55,028	$238,800
Garrett County	11	29,677	$46,277	$169,400
Cecil County	12	102,175	$67,938	$239,900
Washington County	13	149,571	$56,316	$198,900
Prince George’s County	14	897,693	$75,925	$261,400
Caroline County	15	32,653	$50,830	$192,600
Wicomico County	16	101,527	$53,508	$173,100
Dorchester County	17	32,451	$47,907	$188,100
Allegany County	18	73,060	$41,559	$118,800
Baltimore City	19	621,000	$44,262	$153,000
Somerset County	20	25,899	$35,886	$131,800