Study: Best Cities to Raise a Family in Maryland

Maryland has the winning combo of a low unemployment rate, diversity, and excellent schools for young families. The state may be small in size but is big in personality, as any of its native residents will tell you. Read on to find the 10 best cities to raise a family in Maryland.

With its dense population and deep historic ties, if you’re looking to make a move, you have a good chance of finding a job here, and you can ensure you’re kids will get a good education. The high livability of this mid-Atlantic state makes it so you’ll want to stick around after the children have flown from their Maryland nest.

The CreditDonkey team has researched the major metro areas that Maryland has to offer to come up with the 10 best for families. Give it a look while you contemplate moving there, or peruse our list to see if your favorite Maryland city made the cut.

Study Methodology

We chose to limit our study to those Maryland cities that had a population of at least 10,000 residents. We then narrowed our rankings further based on these five factors:

1. Education
   
2. Commute Time
   
3. Household Type
   
4. Residency
   
5. Housing Costs

Generally, the more educated a city's residents are, the more it adds to the overall quality of life. For each location, we looked at the percentage of adults who completed a high school diploma or higher.

Many of Maryland's smaller cities serve as suburban communities to larger places like Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Choosing to live outside the metro area can cut down on some of the traffic you have to deal with on the drive to work. Our experts considered the length of the average commute for each city to find the ones where the trip is shortest.

Moving is always tough but settling down in an area where there are lots of other families can make the transition easier for everyone. We looked at which cities had the highest percentage of households with children under 18 to find those spots where you'll feel most at home.

Getting to know the people in your neighborhood can be difficult if people are constantly moving in and out. The cities in our study are ranked according to the percentage of people who still reside in the same home they did one year ago.

Maryland tends to have a slightly higher cost of living compared to other states and if you're planning to buy a home, you need to know which cities are the most affordable. We narrowed the field for our study based partly on the percentage of income residents spend on housing in each city.

10 Best Cities for Families in Maryland

10. Elkton

• High School Graduate or Higher: 81.2%
  
• Commute Time: 26.7 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 36.3%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 84.3%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 25.3%

Elkton is tucked away in Maryland's northeast corner, adjacent to the Delaware state line. Nearly 16,000 people live here and the city has the highest percentage of family households with minor children. Home prices are in the low $220,000s and the median paycheck adds up to just over $54,000. The drive to work takes a little longer at nearly 27 minutes and many residents commute the 20 or so miles across the border to Wilmington.

Did You Know: General George Washington stayed in the Head of Elk hotel before continuing on to engage British troops at the Battle of Brandywine.

9. Cumberland

• High School Graduate or Higher: 87.5%
  
• Commute Time: 16.4 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 22.3%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 84.8%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 24.4%

If you prefer a mountain view, you'll love Cumberland. Located in northwestern Maryland, this city of 20,000 residents sits at the base of the Appalachian Mountains. Out of all the cities on our list, Cumberland has the shortest average commute and houses sell for rock-bottom prices. Kids can soak up the local history at places like the Allegheny Museum or get an up-close view of the birds at Rocky Gap State Park.

Did You Know: One of the most eye-catching natural attractions is the Cumberland Narrows, a water gap that runs between the Willis and Haystack Mountains.

8. Gaithersburg

• High School Graduate or Higher: 90%
  
• Commute Time: 31.8 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 34.7%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 85%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 25.3%

Gaithersburg is one of the state's larger cities, with a population topping 62,000. Technically part of the Washington, D.C. metro area, the city is located less than 25 miles from the nation's capital and less than 45 miles from Baltimore. Nearly 35% of the area's family households include at least one minor child and the local schools draw rave reviews from parents. The average commute is over 30 minutes but you'll take home a much bigger paycheck since the median household income tops $81,000.

Did You Know: Gaithersburg is home to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

7. Takoma Park

• High School Graduate or Higher: 89.8%
  
• Commute Time: 37 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 33.6%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 85.3%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 21.1%

Takoma Park sits just outside the larger city of Silver Spring and is less than 10 miles north of Washington, D.C. The area was planned as a suburban community and is highly sought-after for its excellent schools and safe neighborhoods. Homes are less expensive than in the D.C. metro area and residents spend on average roughly 21% of their income on housing. The best part is, you're just minutes from some of the best museums, galleries and historic attractions in the country.

Did You Know: Takoma Park is known as "Azalea City" thanks to a profusion of the flowering plants growing in the area.

Tip: With a 37 minute average commute, maybe it's time to compare gas credit cards with rewards to save money at the pump.

6. Havre de Grace

• High School Graduate or Higher: 90.3%
  
• Commute Time: 27 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 24.5%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 84.2%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 22.6%

If a smaller city is what you've got in mind, Havre de Grace is an idyllic place to call home. The city sits roughly halfway between Baltimore and Wilmington, DE, on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Over the years, Havre de Grace has seen an increase in the number of upper-middle class residents who call the city home, and the median household income is above $65,000.

Did You Know: One of Havre de Grace's main historic attractions is the Skipjack Martha Lewis, one of the last remaining working dredge boats included in the Chesapeake Bay oyster fleet.

5. Bel Air

• High School Graduate or Higher: 91.4%
  
• Commute Time: 30.2 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 26.4%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 87.4%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 23.8%

At less than 30 miles from Baltimore, Bel Air is a good choice if you work in the big city but don't mind living a little further away. The average commute clocks in at 30.2 minutes and Bel Air ranks well in terms of how educated its residents are. Area schools rate well for student achievement and approximately 91.4% of the adult population has at least a high school diploma.

Did You Know: Bel Air was once known as Scott's Oil Fields but despite the name, the city never experienced a major oil boom.

4. Rockville

• High School Graduate or Higher: 93.4%
  
• Commute Time: 30.9 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 29.9%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 84.2%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 23.3%

Rockville is located less than 15 miles northwest of both Bethesda and Silver Spring. Even though it has a longer average commute, it still ranks highly on our list based on its education rating and the amount residents spend on housing. Rockville residents pull down the second highest median income of any city on our list, at nearly $98,000. The city features a diverse makeup of people, including one of the largest Chinese populations in Maryland.

Did You Know: Rockville, named the seat of Montgomery County in 1776, is one of Maryland's oldest towns.

3. Easton

• High School Graduate or Higher: 89%
  
• Commute Time: 24.5 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 29.3%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 86.2%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 24.8%

Easton is part of the scenic Eastern Shore area located along the Chesapeake Bay. Aside from the great views, Easton's appeal lies in its historic character and small-town feel. The average commute is one of the shortest and you'll be happily surprised at the range of amenities that are available. Residents don't have to pay an arm and a leg for housing and there are plenty of safe, family-friendly neighborhoods to choose from.

Did You Know: The annual Waterfowl Festival is a popular family event featuring a special fishing derby just for kids.

2. Aberdeen

• High School Graduate or Higher: 85.9%
  
• Commute Time: 25 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 30.8%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 86.2%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 23.4%

Aberdeen is known as the Home of Opportunity and you won't regret taking a chance on moving your family here. This close-knit community features safe neighborhoods, and there are a significant number of families with children already living in the area. The city has everything you'd expect from a larger urban area and the housing market isn't a budget-buster. On hot summer nights, you can pack up the gang and head to Ripken Stadium to watch the IronBirds baseball team play.

Did You Know: Baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. was born in Havre de Grace and grew up in Aberdeen.

1. Bowie

• High School Graduate or Higher: 94.9%
  
• Commute Time: 36 minutes
  
• Households With Children Under 18: 34.2%
  
• Residing in Same Home: 91.9%
  
• Income Spent on Housing: 24.3%

Bowie made it to the top of our rankings based on how well it scored for education, residency and the number of children living in the area. The fact that it's located less than 20 miles from both Washington and Annapolis makes it an obvious choice if you commute to either city. It also doesn't hurt that homes sell for significantly less, and residents bring in a median income of close to $106,000 a year. Great schools and a lower than average crime rate add to the list of reasons why Bowie's such an exceptional place to live.

Did You Know: The historic Belair Mansion recreates what life was like for residents between 1747 and 1950.

You may have noticed that Annapolis and Baltimore didn't make it into our rankings. To be sure, there's lots to like about Baltimore, especially if you're an Orioles fan. However, based on the five criteria we used to determine our rankings we found that the 10 cities on our list knocked them out of the park.