Maryland · County property tax · ACS 2024
Baltimore city Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Baltimore city pays $3,354 a year, an effective rate of 1.46%, far above the U.S. average.
- $3,354
- Median tax / yr · High bill
- 1.46%
- Effective rate · High rate
- +68%
- vs U.S. average
- #1 of 24
- rank in MD
The verdict
Homeowners in Baltimore city pay a median $3,354 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.46%, more affordable than 12% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $3,354
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 1.46%
- Effective rate on median home
- #2750 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- +68%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($229,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Maryland. Population: 573,243. Owner-occupied homes: 121,471.
The median annual property tax in Baltimore city is $3,354, which is 18% lower than the Maryland state average and 68% above the national average. The effective tax rate is 1.46% on a median home value of $229,600. Property taxes represent 5.4% of the median household income in this county.
Baltimore city's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Baltimore city's 1.46% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 12%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well above the national median
Homeowners in Baltimore city pay a median annual property tax of $3,354, far above the national median and notably lower than the Maryland state median. On a $229,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 1.46% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Low among Maryland counties by effective rate
Baltimore city ranks #1 of 24 counties in Maryland by effective rate (96% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a heavy tax share
Property taxes in Baltimore city run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.4% of the $62,177 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Baltimore city as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Baltimore city's effective rate fell 12.9% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 37.2%, leaving the median bill 19.5% higher at $3,354. That rate move is larger than the one in 54% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $2,806 to $3,354, a gain of 20%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The heaviest band is also the fullest one here: 66,121 of 121,471 owner-occupied homes (54.4%) report annual real-estate taxes above $3,000. That band has no upper edge in the source, so the county median understates the burden carried by the plurality rather than describing it.
A top-quartile rate meets below-median earnings here, and the median bill reaches 5.4% of median household income. A rate ranking places this county by the rate alone; the ratio above is the figure that accounts for what is earned here.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
Baltimore city is an outlier inside Maryland
Across the 24 Maryland counties with a published rate, the average effective rate is 0.93%. Baltimore city is at 1.46%, which sits 3.3 standard deviations above that average. Fewer than one county in twenty nationally is this far from its own state's centre, so a state-level average is a poor guide to what is owed here.
Standard deviations are computed across every county in the state with a published effective rate for 2024; states with fewer than five such counties are not assessed.
What Baltimore city Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Baltimore city homeowners, 66,121 of 121,471 owner-occupied homes (54.4%), pays $3,000 or more a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 7.0% (8,561)
- $800 to $1,499 9.1% (11,091)
- $1,500 to $1,999 6.5% (7,951)
- $2,000 to $2,999 18.5% (22,428)
- $3,000 or more 54.4% (66,121)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
5,319 homes here (4.4%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Maryland handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
Mortgaged homeowners in Baltimore city pay a substantially higher bill, 31% more, pointing to a wide home-value gap between the two groups.
Baltimore city's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Baltimore city's effective rate is higher than 96% of the 24 counties in Maryland - ranking #1 of 24.
Where Baltimore city sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
1.46% more affordable than 12% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
A high rate, a smaller bill
Baltimore city taxes property at 1.46%, about 51% above the Maryland average, yet its median bill of $3,354 lands roughly 18% below it. The effective rate is the bill divided by the home's value, so a county can only sit on opposite sides of the state average this way when its homes are worth materially less than the state norm. The rate is the policy; the bill is what the housing market does with it.
Baltimore city vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Baltimore city | Maryland Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax High bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate High rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Highest-decile income burden | 5.4% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Baltimore city's STEEP · HEAVY lane - is an appeal worth running?
On Baltimore city's published figures (STEEP · HEAVY), a $229,600 median home carries a $3,354 median bill, so every 10% off an assessed value is worth about $335 a year at the same rate. Appeal Savings Estimator · appeal guide for Maryland.
Baltimore city rate trail · STEEP
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,354 +3.6% | 1.46% |
| 2023 | $3,236 +5.6% | 1.48% |
| 2022 | $3,065 +6.1% | 1.51% |
| 2021 | $2,890 +3.0% | 1.65% |
| 2020 | $2,806 | 1.68% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Baltimore city: tax takes 5.4% of income
Counties near Baltimore city's effective rate
On effective rate, Baltimore city sits nearest Wyandotte County (KS), Riley County (KS), Morris County (KS).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Starr County (TX), Lake of the Woods County (MN), St. Charles Parish (LA).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Baltimore city: only 10% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 26,630 of 259,640 returns from Baltimore city reported real estate taxes, averaging $5,571 - 31% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Maryland
Baltimore city rate FAQs
- How does Baltimore city property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Baltimore city run far above the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 1.46% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Baltimore city?
- Baltimore city, Maryland scores F (11/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is housing pressure at F (3.69×). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Baltimore city, Maryland?
- The median annual property tax in Baltimore city is $3,354, an effective rate of 1.46% on a $229,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Baltimore city?
- Property taxes in Baltimore city run a bit above the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 5.4% of the $62,177 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Baltimore city?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Baltimore city climbed 19.5% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $2,806 to $3,354, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Baltimore city's STEEP rate
Baltimore city's $3,354 median bill sits well above the U.S. median - size a personal estimate before treating the county headline as your budget. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is elevated here: about 5.4% of Baltimore city's $62,177 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Baltimore city's STEEP effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 1.46%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $3,354/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Baltimore city
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Baltimore city (STEEP · HEAVY), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
STEEP HEAVY
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,350/yr (near-tied bill ABS $4); rate 1.19% vs Baltimore city 1.46%.
Fulton County, NY
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,364/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 2.06% vs Baltimore city 1.46%.
Licking County, OH
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,364/yr (near-tied bill ABS $10); rate 1.22% vs Baltimore city 1.46%.
Fond du Lac County, WI
ABS(median_tax) peer · $3,365/yr (near-tied bill ABS $11); rate 1.51% vs Baltimore city 1.46%.
Maryland county set
State ACS overview for every published Maryland county rate and median bill.
Appeal filing windows
Baltimore city stamps STEEP · HEAVY - review notice deadlines before quoting the ACS median.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Baltimore city (STEEP · HEAVY) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.