The 23 Best places to live in Maryland

Updated: June 21, 2026

Maryland ranked 4th most liveable and 17th most expensive state in the United States. Below is the list of 23 best cities to live and work for singles and families.

3 best cities to live in Maryland are Bethesda, Rockville, and Baltimore. More than 30% population of Maryland live in cities with quality of life more than 65/100.

Rank	State	Quality of life	Cost of living
1	District of Columbia	94	$3338
2	New York State	86	$3422
3	Pennsylvania	83	$2368
4	Maryland	83	$2450
5	Texas State	81	$2115
6	Arizona	81	$2290
7	Illinois	81	$2483
8	California	80	$3064
9	Tennessee	80	$2162
10	Virginia	79	$2385
11	Washington	79	$2670
12	Oklahoma State	79	$1887
13	Colorado	79	$2611
14	Nebraska	78	$1869
15	Alaska	78	$2523
16	North Carolina	78	$2196
17	Florida	78	$2550
18	Delaware	77	$2336
19	Indiana	77	$2024
20	Ohio	77	$1906
21	Massachusetts	77	$2907
22	Nevada	77	$2364
23	Michigan	76	$1933
24	Oregon State	76	$2458
25	Hawaii	76	$3106
26	Wisconsin	76	$2024
27	Missouri	76	$1955
28	Minnesota	75	$2227
29	New Jersey	75	$2758
30	Iowa State	75	$1779
31	Connecticut	75	$2620
32	Georgia	74	$2262
33	Vermont	74	$2606
34	Kentucky	74	$1811
35	New Mexico	74	$2009
36	Louisiana	73	$2021
37	Kansas State	73	$1992
38	South Dakota	73	$1905
39	South Carolina	73	$2237
40	Rhode Island	73	$2574

Best cities to live in Maryland

Bethesda

Rockville

Baltimore

Silver Spring

Columbia

Hagerstown

Bowie

College Park

Laurel

Gaithersburg

Greenbelt

Catonsville

Germantown

Annapolis

Owings Mills

Eldersburg

Waldorf

Bel Air South

Frederick

Edgewood

Bel Air North

Cumberland

Salisbury