Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Maryland (2026)

Start with Baltimore. It is the lowest entry price on this list, $203,000 at the median, and its $1,775 median asking rent turns that into 10.5 percent gross, the best return the state's measurable cities offer. Second is Bel Air: 9.8 percent gross, $292,500 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, 911, with a median of $1,995, 12 percent above the $1,775 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, 10.5 percent gross

Baltimore is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 911 closes with a median of $1,995 beside a $1,775 asking median, a 12 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $203,000 median closed price across 4,841 closings, $1,775 median asking rent across 10,391 listings, 10.5 percent gross. The Baltimore market page carries the monthly figures.

2. Bel Air, 9.8 percent gross

Bel Air's confirmed-close median, $2,388 on 50 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 $292,500 over the last twelve months and the median asking rent in the last twelve months was $2,400, a gross yield of 9.8 percent. The Bel Air market page carries the monthly figures.

3. Aberdeen, 9.2 percent gross

The numbers: $300,000 median closed price across 213 closings, $2,291 median asking rent across 296 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: $249,995 median closed price across 280 closings, $1,900 median asking rent across 160 listings, 9.1 percent gross. See the Cambridge page for the property mix and the price band.

5. Owings Mills, 8.7 percent gross

Owings Mills is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 43 closes with a median of $2,750 beside a $2,502 asking median, a 10 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $343,462 median closed price across 286 closings, $2,502 median asking rent across 415 listings, 8.7 percent gross. Full detail is on the Owings Mills market page.

6. Elkridge, 8.5 percent gross

Elkridge's confirmed-close median, $3,000 on 57 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. Parkville, 8.2 percent gross

Parkville also carries a confirmed-close median: 39 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,220, 14 percent above the $1,950 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. The numbers: $285,000 median closed price across 319 closings, $1,950 median asking rent across 347 listings, 8.2 percent gross. See the Parkville page for the property mix and the price band.

8. Glen Burnie, 8.2 percent gross

Glen Burnie is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 92 closes with a median of $2,600 beside a $2,450 asking median, a 6 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. At $360,000 to buy and $2,450 a month to rent, Glen Burnie yields 8.2 percent gross on 348 tracked closings. See the Glen Burnie page for the property mix and the price band.

9. Reisterstown, 8.0 percent gross

The numbers: $345,000 median closed price across 231 closings, $2,300 median asking rent across 173 listings, 8.0 percent gross. Houses there closed at about $195 per square foot. See the Reisterstown page for the property mix and the price band.

10. Salisbury, 7.8 percent gross

Salisbury also carries a confirmed-close median: 32 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $1,595, 3 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: $255,000 median closed price across 226 closings, $1,650 median asking rent across 453 listings, 7.8 percent gross. Full detail is on the Salisbury market page.

11. Edgewater, 7.6 percent gross

Rent is what puts Edgewater eleventh 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.

12. Laurel, 7.5 percent gross

Laurel also carries a confirmed-close median: 132 confirmed lease closes in the last twelve months have a median of $2,800, 12 percent above the $2,500 asking median. The two samples are not paired, so this describes the samples rather than the same homes. At $400,000 to buy and $2,500 a month to rent, Laurel yields 7.5 percent gross on 169 tracked closings. Full detail is on the Laurel market page.

13. Odenton, 7.5 percent gross

Odenton's confirmed-close median, $2,800 on 75 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: $440,000 median closed price across 241 closings, $2,750 median asking rent across 388 listings, 7.5 percent gross. See the Odenton page for the property mix and the price band.

14. Pasadena, 7.5 percent gross

Pasadena's confirmed-close median, $2,600 on 37 closes, sits close to its $2,650 asking median; the samples are separate, so read it as agreement between two medians rather than a validated yield. The numbers: $425,000 median closed price across 199 closings, $2,650 median asking rent across 231 listings, 7.5 percent gross. See the Pasadena page for the property mix and the price band.

15. Bowie, 7.4 percent gross

Bowie is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 99 closes with a median of $3,000 beside a $3,100 asking median, a 3 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $500,000 median closed price across 464 closings, $3,100 median asking rent across 646 listings, 7.4 percent gross. See the Bowie page for the property mix and the price band.

16. Upper Marlboro, 7.2 percent gross

Upper Marlboro is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 181 closes with a median of $3,000 beside a $2,900 asking median, a 3 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. At $485,000 to buy and $2,900 a month to rent, Upper Marlboro yields 7.2 percent gross on 838 tracked closings. The Upper Marlboro market page carries the monthly figures.

17. Severn, 7.1 percent gross

Severn is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 41 closes with a median of $2,800 beside a $2,900 asking median, a 3 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. At $491,250 to buy and $2,900 a month to rent, Severn yields 7.1 percent gross on 218 tracked closings. The Severn market page carries the monthly figures.

18. Elkton, 7.1 percent gross

A low entry price does not carry Elkton far: it is seventh cheapest on this list and eighteenth on yield, with rent of $1,800 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 $1,800, a gross yield of 7.1 percent. Houses there closed at about $171 per square foot. The Elkton market page carries the monthly figures.

19. Waldorf, 7.0 percent gross

Waldorf is one of the cities with a confirmed-close sample: 106 closes with a median of $2,598 beside a $2,400 asking median, a 8 percent difference between two separate samples, not a measured gap on the same listings. The numbers: $409,900 median closed price across 483 closings, $2,400 median asking rent across 795 listings, 7.0 percent gross. See the Waldorf page for the property mix and the price band.

20. Crofton, 7.0 percent gross

In Crofton the two samples agree: 65 confirmed lease closes have a median of $2,650, within a few percent of the $2,700 asking median, though the samples are separate rather than paired. At $462,500 to buy and $2,700 a month to rent, Crofton yields 7.0 percent gross on 213 tracked closings. Full detail is on the Crofton market page.

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 October 3, 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 $420,000 across 41,887 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 October 4, 2026) and rental listings since October 3, 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.