Moving from Washington to Baltimore

ACS 2024 five-year data place Baltimore median household income at $99,470, below Washington’s $126,684. BEA 2024 Regional Price Parities, indexed with the United States at 100, show Baltimore’s all-item reading 4.397 index points below Washington and its housing reading 32.94 points below. Those comparisons put lower nominal income beside lower regional price levels. They do not establish equivalent disposable income, commuting costs or housing headroom for a particular household.

BLS CES payroll employment over the 12 months to 2026-06 was down 1.17% in Baltimore and down 2.31% in Washington. Baltimore’s reading was less negative, but both metros recorded contraction. Payroll change does not establish property vacancy or collections. For corridor movers, IRS SOI migration 2022-2023 reports $83,988.17 of adjusted gross income per tax return; that is mover tax-return income, not a current wage quote. The next diligence question is whether the household or tenant base relevant to the target address matches the metro income and payroll screens in employer, occupation, commute and income stability.

Cross-release screens pairing Zillow ZORI and ZHVI dated 2026-06-30 with ACS 2024 five-year income data put Baltimore’s rent-to-income ratio at 23.35% and Washington’s at 23.19%. The corresponding price-to-income ratios are 4.10 and 4.62. Both are cross-release screening ratios, not current household budget shares or contemporaneous affordability measures. Baltimore’s lower rent therefore sits beside a slightly higher rent-to-income screen, while its home-value benchmark sits at a lower multiple of median income.

HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom is $1,857 in Baltimore and $2,246 in Washington. Fair Market Rent is a HUD standard, not a Zillow market-rent observation, so it belongs in program and rent-limit diligence rather than as a substitute for current asking rent. At the Zillow observation date, Baltimore’s 5.70% gross-yield screen exceeded Washington’s 5.02%. Gross yield excludes operating expenses, vacancy, financing and capital work. The next question is whether address-level leases, unit condition and recurring costs preserve that directional spread after a property-specific operating statement replaces the metro screen.

HMDA 2024 purchase originations show an investor share of 9.48% in Baltimore and 6.28% in Washington. This is a descriptive financing screen, not proof of buyer competition. A permits-per-thousand-residents screen combining Census BPS 2026 year to date through M06 with ACS 2024 population reads 1.94 for Baltimore and 4.15 for Washington. It is a cross-period descriptive screen, not a same-period supply rate, and it does not prove deliveries, rental vacancy or rent pressure. Together, the measures describe more investor-coded purchase activity but lower permit intensity in Baltimore, a mixed underwriting context rather than one supply conclusion.

Redfin’s metro tracker through 2026-05-01 reports Baltimore at 2.6 months of supply and price drops on 30.85% of listings. Those are for-sale descriptive screens, not rental-demand or property-liquidity guarantees. FEMA’s National Risk Index counties release places the modeled climate/hazard loss ratio at 0.062% for Baltimore and 0.0759% for Washington, with inland flood identified as the top hazard in both. The lower Baltimore ratio does not determine parcel exposure or insurance terms. The next question is whether the subject address, building systems, flood information, insurer quote and exit-market listings match or depart from these metro and county screens.