Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Maryland (2026)

There is no honest way to rank Maryland cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $209,197 to $493,750. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. Maryland's statewide median closed price is $415,000 across 43,233 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Baltimore, $209,197, 4,972 closings

At $209,197 the entry price is about 50 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 4,972 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 829 a month. Full detail is on the Baltimore market page.

2. Hagerstown, $243,000, 365 closings

At $243,000 the entry price is about 59 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 365 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 61 a month. Full detail is on the Hagerstown market page.

3. Salisbury, $245,500, 234 closings

At $245,500 the entry price is about 59 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 234 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 39 a month. Full detail is on the Salisbury market page.

4. Bel Air, $300,000, 244 closings

At $300,000 the entry price is about 72 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 244 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 20 a month. Full detail is on the Bel Air market page.

5. Westminster, $353,000, 219 closings

At $353,000 the entry price is about 85 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 219 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 18 a month. Full detail is on the Westminster market page.

6. Laurel, $385,000, 152 closings

At $385,000 the entry price is about 93 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 152 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 25 a month. Full detail is on the Laurel market page.

7. Waldorf, $405,000, 506 closings

At $405,000 the entry price is about 98 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 506 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 84 a month. Full detail is on the Waldorf market page.

8. Ocean City, $423,950, 752 closings

At $423,950 the entry price is about 102 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 752 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 125 a month. Full detail is on the Ocean City market page.

9. Frederick, $430,000, 731 closings

At $430,000 the entry price is about 104 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 731 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 122 a month. Full detail is on the Frederick market page.

10. Pasadena, $435,000, 190 closings

At $435,000 the entry price is about 105 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 190 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 32 a month. Full detail is on the Pasadena market page.

11. Ocean Pines, $435,000, 196 closings

At $435,000 the entry price is about 105 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 196 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 33 a month. About 87 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Ocean Pines market page.

12. Crofton, $470,000, 218 closings

At $470,000 the entry price is about 113 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 218 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 36 a month. Full detail is on the Crofton market page.

13. Columbia, $475,000, 685 closings

At $475,000 the entry price is about 114 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 685 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 114 a month. Full detail is on the Columbia market page.

14. Upper Marlboro, $475,000, 793 closings

At $475,000 the entry price is about 114 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 793 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 132 a month. Full detail is on the Upper Marlboro market page.

15. Severn, $493,750, 216 closings

At $493,750 the entry price is about 119 percent of the Maryland median. Resideline tracked 216 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 36 a month. Full detail is on the Severn market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.