Is Baltimore the Most Underrated City on the East Coast?
Call it Mobtown, the Monumental City, or the City that Reads, Baltimore has known many names in its nearly 300-year history, but Charm City is the sobriquet that stuck. The appellation for this gritty-pretty, cosmopolitan wonder was the brainchild of two devoted Baltimore creatives, who lent their talents to a 1970s ad campaign to boost the city’s image. 50 years later, you’ll still see the name emblazoned on everything from cleaning service vans to ice cream shops like the Charmery.
Baltimore’s storied history has made it good fodder for fiction, as well. Baltimorean author Edgar Allan Poe created one of the world’s first detective stories — Murders in the Rue Morgue — and police procedurals like Homicide and The Wire are its natural descendants. But it’s not all doom and gloom in Charm City — who could forget the movie Diner, which immortalized one of America’s favorite traditions on film — eating French fries at 3 a.m.
But what is Baltimore like in real life? Well, the charms of this city are in the culture and the community — the colorful rowhouses, the gorgeous parks, the glinting waters of the Inner Harbor, the stellar museums, Ravens and Orioles games, and the food. There aren’t too many places on earth where you can order a crab cake omelet, but Baltimore is one of them.
And where is Baltimore, exactly? Well, this Mid-Atlantic hub lies on the waters of the Patapsco River, about 40 miles northeast of D.C. and 30 miles northwest of Annapolis. Shielded from the roaring waters of the Atlantic by the state of Delaware, Baltimore enjoys the spoils of Chesapeake Bay with the protection of a more inland region.
While the greater metro area now has more than 2.8 million residents, Baltimore city still has a robust population of over 500,000. Newcomers are attracted to diverse job opportunities, lower housing costs and creative and lively culture. If you’re looking for a more affordable city on the East Coast, you should consider moving to Baltimore. Learn more about the city below in our moving guide, where we’ll discuss the cost of living, the job market, the neighborhoods and the top things to do in Baltimore.
Can You Afford to Live Comfortably in Baltimore?
The D.C. metro area is one of the most desirable in the nation, but it’s also one of the most expensive. That’s where Baltimore really turns on the charm. Real estate in Charm City is far lower than the state and national norms, and the median home value in Baltimore is just $219,300. You can expect Frederick County homes to be valued at double that amount, and D.C. suburban real estate can easily quintuple those numbers.
But what if you’re renting? Leasing an apartment or home in Baltimore is also a money-saver over regional rates. The median gross rent here is $1,290/month, compared with the national median of $1,400 and the D.C. median of more than $1,900.
Housing isn’t the only factor affecting the cost of living in Baltimore, of course. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that Baltimoreans spend more on everyday needs like transportation, food and healthcare than the average American does.
So how much do you need to earn to cover the basics? Well, the MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates that an individual without children in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area needs a minimum of $51,668 in pre-tax wages to afford the basic living expenses. Here’s a breakdown of some of those costs:
- Food: $4,699
- Medical: $3,654
- Housing: $16,955
- Transportation: $9,367
- Civic: $2,589
- Internet/Mobile: $2,044
- Misc.: $3,770
- Annual Taxes: $8,591
See what typical Baltimore salaries are like for common professions.
What’s It Like to Work in Baltimore?
With an expansive portfolio of industry sectors — from academia to finance, publishing and trade — the greater D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis area is an economic powerhouse in the nation. If you are thinking of moving to the region for a new job or better opportunities for growth in your current career, you’ll find working in Baltimore has many options you just won’t find anywhere else.
One of the biggest drivers in the Baltimore economy is education and health services, which supplies nearly 300,000 jobs regionally. This sector grew by 3.2% between May of 2024 and May of 2025. Major employers include Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, MedStar Health and the Veterans Health Administration, among others.
In addition to these educational and healthcare providers, Baltimore’s biggest employers include energy giant Exelon, athletics apparel titan Under Armour — which makes its headquarters in the Charm City — Marriott International, H&S Bakery, Morgan Stanley and The Agora, a global publishing and information conglomerate.
Following education and health services, Baltimore’s job market is dominated by three industry sectors: professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities and the government. That’s right, it’s hard to escape Big Brother this close to the nation’s capital, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing if you’re one of the 245,000+ residents employed by Uncle Sam? The U.S Social Security Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are two of the biggest institutions in the city, and Fort George G. Meade isn’t far away, either.
Considering commuting to D.C. from Baltimore? While you won’t be the only person in the city making the trek, it isn’t exactly popular. Fewer than 8% of Baltimore residents commute to Washington, according to the D.C. Policy Center. In regular traffic, you can make the journey in just under an hour, but when is anything in D.C. ever regular? The lengthy commute is more tenable for hybrid workers or those who only need to be in the city occasionally for meetings.
What Are the Schools Like in Baltimore?
The Charm City may be known for its beauty and its brawn, but it’s the brains behind this town that deserve the biggest bragging rights. Baltimore is home to a dozen institutions of higher education, from Johns Hopkins to MICA, Goucher, Towson, the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). The greater DC area brings even more heavy hitters to the table, like Georgetown, Howard, and American University, and Ivy Leagues like Princeton and Penn are also driving distance from Baltimore.
In addition to these Baltimore colleges and universities, younger students in the city also have a lot of options. Baltimore area public schools like Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and the Baltimore Design School are among the top 20 schools in the state of Maryland, and Baltimore School for the Arts and Baltimore City College both make the top 50. Private schools — some of which were founded as far back as 1784 — giving parents even more options to consider.
Whether you’ve got a kid who is pre-K-on-the-way or scoping out degree programs for yourself, getting a great education in Baltimore is a no-brainer.
Which Baltimore Neighborhood Feels Like You?
From cool and quirky to historic and harborside, there are over 200 Baltimore neighborhoods to explore. Some hoods like Pigtown have held onto their brow-raising monikers (but not the free-roaming swine, thankfully), while others lucked out with aptly regal names like Remington. This affordable creative district is tucked between Johns Hopkins and Jones Falls — where the popular R. House food hall is located as well as Ottobar — the longest-running music venue in the city. Those looking for one of Baltimore’s iconic rowhouses and an easy walk to water should look in trendy Fells Point, a spot Billie Holiday once called home. But these aren’t the only nice areas in Baltimore to hang out. Here are a few of our top recommendations for where to live in Baltimore.
On the west side of JHU, you’ll find that all the cool kids hang out on The Avenue in Hampden, antiquing for eccentricities at the Parisian Flea or Charlotte Elliott, where you might find a first edition of Charlotte’s Web, a vintage fur muff or fossilized insects. You know, the weekend essentials. This kind of funk is all a part of Hampden’s charm. But no activity better encapsulated it than HONFest, a now-defunct festival in which Baltimoreans embraced their inexplicable affinity for the term of endearment and for elaborate dress-up. Who knows, perhaps you will be the one to revive this tradition!
Artsy Mt. Vernon is known for the Bromo Art Walk, which brings thousands of visitors out on the town for a night of gallery hopping, cocktail toasting and street dancing. This biannual meet-and-greet is one of Baltimore’s must-see-and-be-seen events, where you can talk with local artists in the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, see performances from groups like Ballet After Dark and do fun activities like recording your own spoof radio commercial. In addition to the Bromo Arts District, this LGBTQI+-friendly area is also home to the Walters Art Museum and the George Peabody Library, part of Johns Hopkins University.
Many neighborhoods in Charm City vie for the title of the real Baltimore, but both Highlandtown and Greektown are legit contenders. These diverse inland hamlets are havens for some of the best eats in the city, from perfected Mediterranean classics at Estiatorio Plaka to broody booze at the Annabelle Lee Tavern — where every cocktail is inspired by Charm City’s most mysterious bard, Edgar Allan Poe. What better way to toast your move to Baltimore than with a Morbid Rumination, a chartreuse-forward tincture of gin and lime spiked with maraschino liquor for a bloody-hell finish.
What’s There to Do in Baltimore?
Stroll the Iconic Inner Harbor
When you live this close to the ocean, you can find beachy vibes almost everywhere you go, but none more so than in the iconic Inner Harbor. This is the place to go when you want a postcard view to show off to your visiting friends and fam, or when you need an instant stay-cay, like, on your lunch break.
Baltimore’s Waterfront Promenade transformed decades of industrial grit into a glimmering public space, where you can bike, stroll, dine and shop. The pathway wraps around seven miles of the Patapsco River, connecting many of the city’s most popular destinations, like the Port Discovery Children’s Museum.
Any visit to the harbor will likely put you eye to googly-eye with Mr. Trash Wheel — a “semiautonomous trash interceptor” that’s best described as the lovechild of a paddle steamer, Sponge Bob’s Mr. Crab and that guy in your neighborhood who lovingly spears street litter and was voted most likely to own a metal detector. Mr. Trash Wheel keeps 500 tons of litter out of the seas, which means more Maryland crabcakes for you and fewer plastic pearls in the oysters.
One of the most popular stops on the promenade is the National Aquarium. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of Shark Alley where you can be fed to — ahem, help feed — the stiff-finned predators, or experience them in 4D – the way you’ve never, ever wanted to. Don’t be ashamed to chicken out like we did and just attend a training session with dolphins, where the porpoises show humans a thing or two about how life should be lived.
American history nerds — of which there are many in Charm City — will enjoy touring Baltimore’s floating museums, like the U.S.S. Constellation — the last American warship powered only by sails, which IOHO, is really the most elegant way to attack the enemy.
From the Inner Harbor, you can take a water taxi to other Baltimore hotspots like Fells Point and Federal Hill, or just cruise around the water on the Harbor Trolley and see the Museum of Industry, the Maryland Science Center and Fort McHenry, where the battle that inspired the national anthem occurred.
Get Outdoors with a Local Twist
With all its monuments and urban amenities, Baltimore’s outdoor attractions sometimes get overlooked. Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy the city’s natural side.
Baltimore is blessed with some truly exceptional greenspaces, and Patterson Park and Druid Hill Park are two of the city’s best. Patterson Park dates to the early 19th century, and among the lakes, fountains and pathways of its 55 acres stands the iconic Patterson Park Observatory, familiarly known as The Pagoda, where you can take in panoramic views of the city.
At nearly 750 acres, Druid Hill Park is a massive emerald treasure in the city, home to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, a great disc golf course and the Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens. On Wednesdays, you can shop the Agrihood Baltimore Farmer’s Market here, and the park is a daily destination for morning joggers, thanks to the Jones Falls Trail, which runs straight through Druid Hill Park.
For longer hiking and biking excursions, set out on the Gwynns Falls Trail, which can take you 22 miles around town, from the Inner Harbor to the East Coast Greenway, from which you could ride all the way to Florida or Maine, if you were so inclined.
When you long for a languid stroll, the Cylburn Arboretum will woo you with its shady canopy that shelters 150 acres of woodland trails dotted with celandine poppies, cheery phlox and sunny goldenrod at the end of summer.
With all of Baltimore’s waterways, it would be a shame not to experience the city from the water itself, right? In Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, you can rent a kayak or one of the beloved Chessie Dragon paddleboats and get a seafaring view. Or, rent one of the harbor’s electric pirate ships and scheme with your maties on how best to make off with Baltimore’s booty.
If you’re looking for an unforgettable (or unforgiveable) family adventure, sign your crew up for group lessons at the Downtown Sailing School. Spend the day on Chesapeake Bay bonding over the power of your sea legs and your mariner’s instinct or spend it trading jibes across the jib as your green-faced relatives heave over the edge.
Back on land — blessed dry, solid land — an easier cruise awaits at the B&O Railroad Museum. At this historic spot, you can ride the first mile of commercial tracks ever laid across the U.S. of A. Boardgame lovers will also enjoy seeing their favorite Monopoly property IRL. Inside the museum, you’ll learn about how the railroad shaped the nation, from climate change to the outcome of the Civil War. PSA: The museum’s refurbished locomotives may cause some visitors to develop an uncontrollable urge for… model trains. We know that miniature tracks, miniature trees and miniature travelers should be treated as a controlled substance, but it is up to you alone to resist the narcotic appeal of O-gauge transportation.
Embrace Baltimore’s Artsy Side
Most art afficionados are aware of the embarrassment of creative riches in the National Mall, but Baltimore has plenty of gems of its own. In the Baltimore Museum of Art, you’ll find works dating back to ancient times — something you won’t see much of in D.C. — and the BMA also has a massive Matisse collection.
Like the BMA, admission to the Walters Museum is also free. This hub of the Mt. Vernon/Bromo Arts District currently has a series of enormous glass works by Kehinde Wiley, who painted President Obama’s official portrait. Other exciting exhibitions on view include an installation in the Egyptian wing by artist Jackie Milad, and a bookwormy exhibition highlighting the toxins of medieval manuscripts. Another solid reason for not touching art.
You’ll have to pay to enter the American Visionary Art Museum, but that’s about the only downside of visiting this treasury of self-taught works. The permanent collection has moving pieces by Esther Krinitz — a holocaust survivor who documented her experiences in embroidery — and joyful paintings by Lisa Cain that celebrate family and community.
MICA student shows are a great way to preview what might grace the walls of Baltimore museums in the future, while monthly art walks in areas like Bromo, the Station North Arts District and Highlandtown offering regular opportunities to meet a wide range of practicing artists in the region.
Attend Sports Events
With all the high-cultural appeal of Charm City, it’s almost unfair that this Mid-Atlantic hub also shines in other arenas — even literal, athletic ones like M&T Bank Stadium. Of course, the City that Reads bestowed a literary name on its biggest sports franchise, the Baltimore Ravens. If it weren’t for Edgar Allan Poe, you might have been rooting for the Baltimore Crabcakes, or worse, be stuck with the Washington Commanders. Baltimore’s devotion to the Ravens runs deep, too. In 2024, the Maryland governor was so impressed by the birds’ winning streak — 13 games in the regular season — that he declared Purple Friday in honor of the team.
Beloved by diehards but beleaguered by losing streaks, the Baltimore Orioles haven’t won a World Series since the late 80s, but they have enjoyed a couple tantalizing near-victories in 21st-century pennant races. No matter how the team is faring after Opening Day, though, almost everyone is a big fan of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which features enormous works by artists as part of the Birdland Murals series.
Moving to Baltimore, Maryland: What Should You Plan for?
Making a move to Baltimore is a big decision. That’s why it’s critical to find the best full-service moving company in the industry — a partner you can trust — like Mayflower.
Get a moving quote now for Baltimore.
If you’re moving cross-country to Baltimore, Mayflower’s long-distance movers make it easy. Our full-service moving packages can be customized to include essential services like packing and unpacking, storage for your belongings, car shipping and even debris removal. A personal move coordinator will handle the details of your relocation.
If you’re moving locally in Maryland, either within Baltimore or elsewhere in the state, Mayflower’s interstate Maryland agents/movers can assist you with local moves under their own businesses and brands.
No matter how you choose to move to Baltimore, Maryland — even if it’s on your own — Mayflower’s moving checklist and planner can help you stay on track. Need advice on the best way to pack your belongings or keep your family calm during your move? Mayflower’s moving blog has all the answers you need. Our exclusive, digital guide to moving — Welcome HOME magazine — is loaded with our latest tips for handling the experience like a pro. We can even give you pointers on how to help your family settle in after the move.
Still keeping your options open? Mayflower’s city guides and state guides will show you some of the best places to live in the U.S.
When you work with Mayflower on your upcoming relocation, our professional network of nationwide movers will be with you Every Step of the Way®. Since 1927, we’ve helped millions of families relocate, and that’s why we’ve earned the distinction of being America’s most-trusted moving company. With nearly 100 years of experience, Mayflower can help you relocate to Baltimore from anywhere in the U.S., whether it’s across the country or just down the street.
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