Baltimore, MD vs Fargo, ND
Moving from Baltimore to Fargo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $327,854 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Fargo at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $86,385 in Fargo, ND (−$13,615).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Fargo, ND: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 2,592 sqft in Fargo ($214 vs $193 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Fargo, ND | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $13,872 | −$9,156 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,850 | −$225 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,130 | −$555 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,332 | −$1,056 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,100 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $8,083 | −$3,501 |
| Total | $47,160 | $33,367 | −$13,793 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Fargo, ND |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 8.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $327,854 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 3.2% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $193 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,156 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.04% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.20% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 18 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 12.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $70 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 290 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | -2 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 22.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 50.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |