Cost of living in Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland has about 573,243 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $229,600.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Baltimore city is $2,006 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Baltimore. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area, prices sit at 104.5 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

Maryland taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 6.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Baltimore's exact store tax.

Some places in Maryland add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 2.40% of income. That is not a Baltimore bill.

In July 2026, a typical Maryland home paid 21.41¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Baltimore's bill.

EIA does not publish a Maryland gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Central Atlantic (PADD 1B) all-grades price was $4.470 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,145.60 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Maryland shares this price.

Among 293 places we list in Maryland with a rent figure, 238 have higher typical rent than Baltimore.