FIPS 24005 · population 850,796 · part of Baltimore, MD
The latest county-level Zillow ZORI is $1,728 per month in 2026-06. It is a typical asking-rent index across rental types—not an arithmetic average, signed lease or quote for one property.
| Bedrooms | HUD monthly FMR | Geography | Measurement boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,362 | Baltimore County, MD | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 1 bedroom | $1,511 | Baltimore County, MD | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,857 | Baltimore County, MD | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 3 bedrooms | $2,358 | Baltimore County, MD | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
| 4 bedrooms | $2,611 | Baltimore County, MD | HUD administrative benchmark; compare with same-bedroom listings, never treat it as observed asking rent. |
Zillow asking rent, ACS gross rent and HUD FMR describe different housing universes. They remain separate and no metro, city or neighboring-county value replaces missing county evidence.Zillow pulled 2026-07-26 · HUD pulled 2026-07-26
Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.
Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.
Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.
Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-08-02. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.
BEA per-capita personal income divides all personal income by the county population. It is broader than wages, but it is not household income or a measure of what renters can afford.
HUD CHAS separates renter households by income relative to local HAMFI. Moderate burden means housing costs above 30% through 50% of income; severe burden means more than 50%.
These Apartment List observations match the exact county Census code 24005. They are kept separate from Zillow asking rent, Census occupied-home rent and wider metro measures.
Monthly overall-rent index; missing observations are not filled from another geography.
Baltimore County presents an income-versus-liquidity tension. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $367,587, up 0.89%. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 2.90%. These directionally align, but the HPI is an index rather than a home value, and the differing methods and periods cannot be merged. The county warrants investigation for investors able to verify durable rent, but caution where the thesis depends on a rapid resale.
The measured median asking rent is $1,728 per month, producing the reported 5.64% gross yield before taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance or financing. HUD’s $1,857 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent, and cannot substitute for measured market rent or generate a yield estimate. An effective property-tax rate of 1.07% and median annual tax of $3,736 make carrying-cost verification material; gross yield is not net cash flow.
Realtor.com MLS evidence shows 1,468 active listings, up 8.74%, with 16.89% price-reduced. That indicates more visible supply and seller concessions, not closed-sale pricing or buyer demand by itself. Net migration was negative 2,473 tax-return households, and outgoing movers’ average AGI exceeded incoming movers’ by $5,310, a demand-quality concern to test by submarket. Non-occupants accounted for 9.98% of 8,033 purchases, so investor competition exists but is not the dominant purchaser segment.
QCEW annual covered workplace employment contracted while average covered-worker wages increased; education and health services is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual expected climate loss equals 0.06% of building value, a portfolio screen rather than a parcel loss estimate. The record does not publish transaction prices, vacancy, property insurance, operating costs, debt terms, neighborhood flood exposure or lease-renewal evidence; those gaps prevent net-cash-flow, resale-liquidity and property-specific resilience conclusions.
This view uses 12 direct Zillow ZIP markets matched to Census ZCTAs. Each ZIP is assigned by its largest HUD residential county share; this is not an exhaustive county inventory.
Within the selected direct-evidence view, Baltimore County’s practical question is not simply whether rent is high, but how much current asking-rent variation a renter’s budget must absorb before unit-level terms are known. The 12 displayed ZIP/ZCTA matches cover 81,981 renter households. Their June 2026 Zillow ZORI—a typical observed asking-rent index—runs from $1,351 in 21221 to $2,278 in 21208. The selected-set median is $1,670.50, a $927 spread, while the county ZORI is $1,728. This breadth means a county figure is a useful reference, not a substitute for screening the relevant portion of the selected ZIP set. The decision is whether the current asking-rent level can work with a household’s budget after a specific unit’s bedroom count, utilities, fees and lease terms are established.
Zillow, ACS and HUD must remain separate rather than be combined into one rent measure. Zillow’s index shows annual changes across the displayed set from a 0.7% decline to 4.8% growth, against county growth of 2.4%; these are changes in typical observed asking rent, not individual lease renewals. The ACS five-year ZCTA survey estimates show median gross rent from $1,310 to $1,875, with a county estimate of $1,627; gross rent and the survey period differ from ZORI’s asking-rent concept and date. HUD’s administrative two-bedroom FMR is $1,857. Selected ZORI-to-FMR comparisons range from 72.8% to 122.7%, identifying where the index sits relative to that bedroom-specific standard, not a market asking-rent observation or a promise that a particular unit has that rent.
Budget pressure is not summarized by ZORI alone. In the ACS five-year ZCTA estimates, the reported share with rent burden at 30% or more ranges from 44.4% to 60.7%, versus 54.2% countywide. The same ZCTAs report vacancy rates from 3.4% to 8.8%, compared with 5.1% for the county. These paired ranges should not be read as a fixed trade-off within this selected evidence: a lower vacancy rate does not itself identify a lower burden share, and a higher rate does not confirm that suitable units are presently available. A renter should therefore read burden as a household affordability signal and vacancy as a separate stock condition, then test both against the exact unit payment and household income.
Coverage and geography set firm limits on this reading. The direct-evidence selection is not an exhaustive county inventory, and ACS ZCTAs are statistical areas rather than USPS delivery ZIPs. ZIP display assignment uses the county holding the largest HUD residential-address share; among the displayed records, that share ranges from 66.9% to 100.0%. Thus, county attribution strength varies across the selected records, and no ZIP result should be treated as a boundary-exact local market result. Before acting on any comparison, verify the property address, live advertised rent, bedroom count, utility treatment, mandatory fees, lease length, availability timing and any income or program rules. These property-level checks are necessary because neither a survey estimate, an index nor an administrative standard is a quote for a specific dwelling.
20 ZIP profiles passed the county gate; the 12 with the most renter households are shown.
| ZIP / ZCTA | Zillow asking rent | ACS gross rent | HUD 2BR | Burden 30%+ | Vacancy | Income screen | HUD county share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21117 → | $1,845 | $1,848 | $1,857 | 49.4% | 5.6% | $74k | 100.0% |
| 21234 → | $1,653 | $1,587 | $1,857 | 51.2% | 6.8% | $66k | 87.1% |
| 21222 | $1,457 | $1,444 | $1,857 | 56.6% | 6.1% | $58k | 97.2% |
| 21207 | $1,421 | $1,432 | $1,857 | 57.7% | 6.1% | $57k | 66.9% |
| 21244 | $1,548 | $1,622 | $1,857 | 44.4% | 4.8% | $62k | 100.0% |
| 21221 | $1,351 | $1,310 | $1,857 | 56.3% | 6.3% | $54k | 100.0% |
| 21030 | $1,880 | $1,647 | $1,857 | 48.8% | 4.6% | $75k | 100.0% |
| 21228 | $1,688 | $1,701 | $1,857 | 51.3% | 3.4% | $68k | 99.5% |
| 21208 | $2,278 | $1,720 | $1,857 | 49.5% | 4.0% | $91k | 92.9% |
| 21220 | $1,640 | $1,673 | $1,857 | 60.7% | 7.7% | $66k | 100.0% |
| 21236 | $1,766 | $1,650 | $1,857 | 52.2% | 4.0% | $71k | 99.6% |
| 21204 | $2,005 | $1,875 | $1,857 | 53.3% | 8.8% | $80k | 100.0% |
Open a five-digit report for asking rent, affordability, rent history and resale liquidity. Each row keeps its ZIP/ZCTA measurement scope.
| ZIP report | City label | Zillow rent | 1Y change | ACS burden 30%+ | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP 21209 rental reportBaltimore County | Baltimore, MD | $1,853 | ▲ 5.1% | 50.3% | 30,126 |
| ZIP 21117 rental reportBaltimore County | Owings Mills, MD | $1,845 | ▲ 1.9% | 49.4% | 62,816 |
| ZIP 21286 rental reportBaltimore County | Towson, MD | $1,772 | ▲ 7.0% | 49.2% | 21,853 |
| ZIP 21234 rental reportBaltimore County | Parkville, MD | $1,653 | ▲ 4.8% | 51.2% | 66,334 |
| ZIP 21222 rental reportBaltimore County | Dundalk, MD | $1,457 | ▲ 2.9% | 56.6% | 59,407 |
Zillow ZORI is an asking-rent index. ACS burden and population describe the Census ZCTA; missing observations remain n/a.
Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.
Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.
0.063% of building value expected lost per year
$3,736 median annual bill
21,947 in · 24,420 out
$65,947 arriving · $71,257 leaving
802 of 8,033 mortgages
Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.
A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.
| County | Population | Price | Rent | Yield | Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore County | 850,796 | $368k | $1,728 | 5.6% | inland flooding |
| Anne Arundel County | 598,166 | $514k | $2,370 | 5.5% | inland flooding |
| Baltimore city | 573,243 | $189k | $1,801 | 11.4% | inland flooding |
| Howard County | 336,328 | $644k | $2,399 | 4.5% | inland flooding |
| Harford County | 263,757 | $425k | $1,897 | 5.3% | inland flooding |
| Carroll County | 175,321 | $500k | $1,826 | 4.4% | inland flooding |
| Queen Anne's County | 51,825 | $530k | $2,445 | 5.5% | inland flooding |
No. It is a pre-cost gross yield, and the record does not publish vacancy, operating expenses, insurance, maintenance or debt terms.
No. The record identifies HUD FMR as a two-bedroom payment standard, while the published market-rent measure is median asking rent.
Inland flood is the county’s dominant hazard, but the record does not publish neighborhood or parcel flood exposure.