Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Maryland (2026)

Start with Baltimore. It is the lowest entry price on this list, $205,500 at the median, and its $1,754 median asking rent turns that into 10.2 percent gross, the best return the state's measurable cities offer. Second is Bel Air: 9.9 percent gross, $290,000 to buy, $2,400 a month to rent. Fifteen cities on this list carry a confirmed-close median as well as an asking median. Baltimore has the largest close sample, 1,048, with a median of $1,975, 13 percent above the $1,754 asking median; the samples are separate, so this is not evidence that the same homes leased above or below their advertised rent. The table shows the 20 highest-yielding markets among 39 Maryland cities meeting the coverage requirements; the yield range above describes the markets shown. One more city clears the closings bar but not the rental one and appears in a second table with entry price only.

The ranking

Gross yield here is an asking rental yield screen: twelve times the median asking rent over the median closed price, before taxes, insurance, vacancy, management or repairs. Sales use municipal boundaries. Rental listings use the associated city name and may cover a wider postal area. The ratio therefore compares related, but not perfectly matched, market samples, and a home bought at the median price does not necessarily earn the median rent. Confirmed-close medians appear where at least 30 confirmed lease closes were recorded in the window.

City by city

1. Baltimore, 10.2 percent gross

Baltimore is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 1,048 closes with a median of $1,975 beside a $1,754 asking median, a 13 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $205,500 median closed price across 4,994 closings, $1,754 median asking rent across 9,632 listings, 10.2 percent gross. The Baltimore market page carries the monthly figures.

2. Bel Air, 9.9 percent gross

Bel Air's confirmed-close median, $2,400 on 60 closes, sits close to its $2,400 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. Homes in Bel Air closed at a median of $290,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,400, a gross yield of 9.9 percent. The Bel Air market page carries the monthly figures.

3. Aberdeen, 9.2 percent gross

The numbers: $299,000 median closed price across 219 closings, $2,294 median asking rent across 285 listings, 9.2 percent gross. See the Aberdeen page for the property mix and the price band.

4. Cambridge, 9.1 percent gross

The numbers: $249,000 median closed price across 155 closings, $1,898 median asking rent across 146 listings, 9.1 percent gross. See the Cambridge page for the property mix and the price band.

5. Parkville, 8.6 percent gross

Parkville also carries a confirmed-close median: 43 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,220, 11 percent above the $2,000 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $280,000 median closed price across 346 closings, $2,000 median asking rent across 339 listings, 8.6 percent gross. See the Parkville page for the property mix and the price band.

6. Elkridge, 8.5 percent gross

Elkridge's confirmed-close median, $3,000 on 66 closes, sits close to its $3,000 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. Homes in Elkridge closed at a median of $425,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $3,000, a gross yield of 8.5 percent. See the Elkridge page for the property mix and the price band.

7. Owings Mills, 8.5 percent gross

Owings Mills is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 50 closes with a median of $2,700 beside a $2,500 asking median, a 8 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $355,000 median closed price across 152 closings, $2,500 median asking rent across 392 listings, 8.5 percent gross. Full detail is on the Owings Mills market page.

8. Glen Burnie, 8.2 percent gross

Glen Burnie is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 109 closes with a median of $2,600 beside a $2,495 asking median, a 4 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. At $365,000 to buy and $2,495 a month to rent, Glen Burnie yields 8.2 percent gross on 358 tracked closings. See the Glen Burnie page for the property mix and the price band.

9. Laurel, 7.9 percent gross

Laurel also carries a confirmed-close median: 150 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,800, 11 percent above the $2,531 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. At $382,500 to buy and $2,531 a month to rent, Laurel yields 7.9 percent gross on 153 tracked closings. Full detail is on the Laurel market page.

10. Salisbury, 7.9 percent gross

Salisbury also carries a confirmed-close median: 39 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $1,500, 9 percent below the $1,650 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $249,945 median closed price across 244 closings, $1,650 median asking rent across 418 listings, 7.9 percent gross. Full detail is on the Salisbury market page.

11. Reisterstown, 7.9 percent gross

The numbers: $343,500 median closed price across 244 closings, $2,249 median asking rent across 157 listings, 7.9 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $193 per square foot. See the Reisterstown page for the property mix and the price band.

12. Odenton, 7.7 percent gross

Odenton's confirmed-close median, $2,800 on 89 closes, sits close to its $2,750 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. The numbers: $430,000 median closed price across 252 closings, $2,750 median asking rent across 363 listings, 7.7 percent gross. See the Odenton page for the property mix and the price band.

13. Edgewater, 7.6 percent gross

Rent is what puts Edgewater thirteenth here; on price alone it would sit eighteenth of 20. Homes in Edgewater closed at a median of $490,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $3,100, a gross yield of 7.6 percent. Full detail is on the Edgewater market page.

14. Elkton, 7.5 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Elkton far: it is seventh cheapest on this list and fourteenth on yield, with rent of $1,900 against a $305,000 median price. Homes in Elkton closed at a median of $305,000 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $1,900, a gross yield of 7.5 percent. Houses there closed at about $171 per square foot. The Elkton market page carries the monthly figures.

15. Upper Marlboro, 7.5 percent gross

Upper Marlboro's confirmed-close median, $3,000 on 199 closes, sits close to its $2,950 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. At $474,883 to buy and $2,950 a month to rent, Upper Marlboro yields 7.5 percent gross on 791 tracked closings. The Upper Marlboro market page carries the monthly figures.

16. Pasadena, 7.4 percent gross

Pasadena is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 43 closes with a median of $2,600 beside a $2,695 asking median, a 4 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $435,000 median closed price across 195 closings, $2,695 median asking rent across 219 listings, 7.4 percent gross. See the Pasadena page for the property mix and the price band.

17. Bowie, 7.3 percent gross

Bowie's confirmed-close median, $3,000 on 117 closes, sits close to its $3,038 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. The numbers: $499,330 median closed price across 386 closings, $3,038 median asking rent across 600 listings, 7.3 percent gross. See the Bowie page for the property mix and the price band.

18. La Plata, 7.2 percent gross

La Plata also carries a confirmed-close median: 38 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,825, 5 percent above the $2,688 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $445,990 median closed price across 161 closings, $2,688 median asking rent across 192 listings, 7.2 percent gross. The La Plata market page carries the monthly figures.

19. Waldorf, 7.2 percent gross

Waldorf is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 119 closes with a median of $2,600 beside a $2,445 asking median, a 6 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $409,450 median closed price across 510 closings, $2,445 median asking rent across 716 listings, 7.2 percent gross. See the Waldorf page for the property mix and the price band.

20. Severn, 7.1 percent gross

In Severn the two samples agree: 47 confirmed lease closes have a median of $2,850, within a few percent of the $2,900 asking median, though the samples are separate rather than paired. At $490,000 to buy and $2,900 a month to rent, Severn yields 7.1 percent gross on 221 tracked closings. The Severn market page carries the monthly figures.

Priced, but too few rentals to rank

These cities cleared 100 tracked closings but fewer than 50 rental listings carried their name in the last twelve months, so no yield is printed for them.

How this ranking is built

• •Cities: every Maryland city where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the municipal boundary in its reporting window (six or twelve months) and at least 50 rental listings under the city's name since September 10, 2025: 39 cities qualify and the table shows the 20 highest-yielding.
• •Prices: the median price homes closed at inside the city limits, from Resideline's tracked closings; the state comparison uses the statewide median of $415,290 across 43,391 closings.
• •Rents: the median advertised rent on rental listings Resideline tracked in the last twelve months, all property types, measured on the listings that carry the city's name (a postal footprint, wider than the city line in some places).
• •Confirmed-close medians: Observed rent blends two kinds of record: confirmed lease closes extracted from property records, and the final asking rent on listings that left Resideline tracking without a recorded close. Where a city has at least 30 confirmed closes in the window, their median is printed beside the asking figure; in the last twelve months about a quarter of Resideline's close episodes are confirmed closes. The asking and confirmed-close samples are separate, not paired, so a difference between their medians is not a measured gap on the same listings.
• •What is missing: taxes, insurance, vacancy, management and repairs, which turn a gross yield into a net one, and the unit mix, which differs between what sells and what rents.

Sources and related pages

• •Resideline tracked closings inside city limits (window per city, updated September 10, 2026) and rental listings since September 10, 2025; confirmed lease closes extracted from property records.
• •More Maryland rankings: Cheapest cities to buy a house in Maryland ranks the same kind of list with each city's price per square foot for houses, realized appreciation and days to contract beside the median, and Cap Rate by City ranks the Maryland cities Resideline tracks by gross rental yield. The Maryland housing market hub carries the statewide figures and the largest Maryland markets by closings.
• •Asking rent vs observed rent compares live asking rents with final asking rents under that study's own definition; it says nothing about confirmed lease closes.

Prepared with Resideline's research pipeline and reviewed by Jeffrey Batista, Resideline's founder.