Baltimore, MD vs Hartford, CT
Moving from Baltimore to Hartford? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $400,167 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Hartford 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 $100,106 in Hartford, CT (+$106).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Hartford, CT: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 2,374 sqft in Hartford ($214 vs $211 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Hartford, CT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $23,700 | +$672 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,930 | −$145 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,720 | +$35 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $3,480 | +$1,092 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,600 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $15,460 | +$3,876 |
| Total | $47,160 | $52,890 | +$5,729 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Hartford, CT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 103.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 5.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.88 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $400,167 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 5.2% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $211 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 15.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.35% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 6.99% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 2.16% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.07% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 32.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $106 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $66 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 150 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 47.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 51.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |