Moving to Maryland
New residents have 60 days to get a Maryland driver license and must register a car within 60 days. Prices are 5.0% above the U.S. average, and a single filer earning $100,000 pays about $7,283 in Maryland state and county income tax. 83,281 households moved here from other states in 2022–2023, most often from Virginia and Washington, DC.
New resident checklist for Maryland
Driver license
Get a Maryland driver's license within 60 days of becoming a resident. Bring proof of identity, your Social Security number and two proofs of your Maryland address.
Vehicle title and registration
Title and register within 60 days, or you lose credit for tax paid in your prior state and may be cited. A Maryland safety inspection is required. Emissions (VEIP) testing applies in covered counties. Switch your auto insurance to a Maryland policy.
Taxes or fees on a car you bring: The 6.5% titling excise tax is on the vehicle's value, with credit for tax paid in your prior state if you title within 60 days. If the prior state's rate was 6.5% or more, you pay $100. If it was lower, you pay the difference.
Annual registration: By weight, since July 1, 2025: passenger car up to 3,500 lb is $241 per 2 years; 3,501-3,700 lb is $251 per 2 years; over 3,700 lb is $383 per 2 years. 1-, 2- or 3-year terms are available, plus an EMS surcharge.
Extra yearly fee for an electric vehicle: $125.
Establishing residency
The 60-day license, title and registration deadlines start when you become a Maryland resident, i.e. move there and live there. Residency also decides where you pay income tax in the year you move; see taxes the year you move.
Your first-month checklist in Maryland
- Register to vote at your new address.
- Update your address with the IRS (Form 8822), your employer and your bank.
- Make sure your employer withholds Maryland income tax from your move date.
- Set up utilities and get renters or homeowners insurance. Owners with a mortgage here paid a median $1,371 a year for homeowners insurance in 2024 (Census ACS); premiums have risen in most states since, so get quotes.
- Keep your lease or closing papers and your license date as proof of when you became a resident.
Still planning the move itself? The moving out of state checklist covers the weeks before you go, and the moving timeline turns your move date into dated deadlines. Our guide to moving with pets covers vet records, travel and local pet rules. Shipping a car? See shipping a car to another state, or take the Where should I move? quiz.
Official site: mva.maryland.gov. Sources: mva.maryland.gov (2), mva.maryland.gov (3), mva.maryland.gov (4), mva.maryland.gov (5). Reviewed 2026-09-25. Rules and fees change; confirm with the Maryland motor vehicle agency before you go.
Compare your move to Maryland
Pick the state you're leaving and your salary to see your take-home pay, rent and the salary that keeps your buying power the same in Maryland.
Equal salary in MD: $97,600
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $97,600 in Maryland to match $90,000 in Virginia ($7,600 more), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary, standard deduction.
These changes cover taxes, housing and electricity. Food, transport, healthcare, other spending and one-time moving costs are excluded. They are not total savings. State medians may differ from your neighborhood and current quotes.
| Tax on $90,000 | Virginia | Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $10,970 | $10,970 |
| Social Security + Medicare | $6,885 | $6,885 |
| State income tax | $4,361 | $6,498 |
| State payroll programs (UI, disability, paid leave, transit) | $0 | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $67,784 | $65,647 |
Full reports for the most common moves to Maryland: Virginia to Maryland, Washington, DC to Maryland, Pennsylvania to Maryland, Florida to Maryland, New York to Maryland and California to Maryland.
Living in Maryland: costs, taxes and risk
Of the 51 (the 50 states and D.C.), Maryland is in the best 10 for health premiums and household income, and in the worst 10 for state income tax, electric bills, overall prices, car insurance and rent.
- Median rent
- $1,721/mo U.S. $1,487
- Cost to own the median home
- $2,770/mo U.S. $2,298
- Take-home on $100,000
- $71,897 $3,182 less than in the median state
- Property tax (effective)
- 0.95% median $4,144/yr
- FEMA risk score
- 80.9 of 100 Among the highest of U.S. counties
- Moved in from other states
- 83,281 households, IRS 2022–2023
Pros and cons of living in Maryland
How Maryland ranks among all 51 (the 50 states and D.C.) on 11 measures of costs, taxes, risk and income. Top 10 means among the 10 best for someone moving in, Bottom 10 among the 10 worst.
Where Maryland ranks best
- Top 5 Lowest Marketplace health premiums: $414 a month for a benchmark plan at age 40, before subsidies (KFF 2026), 2nd lowest of 51.
- Top 5 Highest household incomes: $102,905 median household income (Census ACS 2024), 4th highest of 51.
Where Maryland ranks worst
- Bottom 5 Highest state income tax: $7,283 on a $100,000 salary, the highest of 51.
- Bottom 5 Highest electric bills: $166 a month on average (EIA 2024), 5th highest of 51.
- Bottom 10 Highest overall prices: price level 105.0 (U.S. = 100, BEA 2024), 8th highest of 51.
- Bottom 10 Highest car insurance costs: $1,477 a year per car on average (NAIC 2023), 8th highest of 51.
- Bottom 10 Highest rent: $1,721 a month at the median (Census ACS 2024), 9th highest of 51.
Measures: state income tax, overall prices, rent, cost to own a home, property tax rate, homeowners insurance, electric bills, car insurance, health premiums, natural hazard risk, household income. State income tax is for a single filer earning $100,000 under 2026 rules, including the average county income tax in Indiana and Maryland. Ties share a rank.
Where new Maryland residents come from
In the latest IRS migration data (2022–2023), 83,281 households filed their taxes in Maryland after filing in another state the year before. Virginia sent the most, 13,353 households (16% of the total). Maryland lost a net 13,628 households to other states that year.
Five-year trend
Moves to Maryland from other states peaked in 2019–20 at 84,419 households, then held roughly steady to 83,281 in 2022–23, up 5% from 2018–19. Maryland lost households to other states on net in all five years.
IRS SOI state-to-state migration files, tax years 2018–19 to 2022–23. Net gain or loss by year: 2018–19 −9,913, 2019–20 −10,163, 2020–21 −12,955, 2021–22 −15,953, 2022–23 −13,628.
Cost of living in Maryland vs the U.S.
Overall prices in Maryland are 5.0% above the U.S. average, 44th cheapest of 51. The widest gap is in housing (121.1), 21% above the U.S. level.
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024.
- Average electric bill
- $166/mo U.S. $142
- Car insurance, per car
- $1,477/yr U.S. $1,282
- Health plan, age 40
- $414/mo U.S. $625
EIA 2024 average residential bills, NAIC 2023 average auto insurance expenditure, KFF 2026 benchmark silver Marketplace premium before subsidies.
Taxes in Maryland: take-home pay at three incomes
Maryland taxes wages, and counties add their own income tax (the figures use the average county rate). Here is what a single filer keeps after 2026 federal and state taxes, compared with the middle of all 51.
| Salary | MD + county tax | Take-home | vs. median state |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $3,358 | $38,997 | -$1,782 |
| $100,000 | $7,283 | $71,897 | -$3,182 |
| $150,000 | $11,563 | $102,228 | -$5,359 |
Single filer, 2026 tax rules, standard deduction. Take-home is after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Maryland income taxes. "vs. median state" is the difference from the median take-home of all 51 at the same salary. For married filing jointly, change the filing status in the calculator above.
The statewide sales tax rate is 6% before any local sales taxes. Homeowners pay a median $4,144 a year in property tax, 0.95% of the median home value (property tax by county). Retiring? See how Maryland taxes Social Security and pensions. Moving mid-year? Read about taxes the year you move.
Cities in Maryland: where a paycheck goes furthest
The Baltimore metro area is the only one of the 149 U.S. metro areas we cover that is centered in Maryland. About $88,100 there buys what $75,000 buys in an average-priced area with no state income tax.
| Metro area | Salary to match $75k | Price level | Median rent | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | $88,100 | 104.5 | $1,633 | $403,000 |
Salary to match $75k: the pay that leaves the same after-tax, price-adjusted income as $75,000 in an area at U.S. average prices with no state income tax, single filer, including the principal city's own income tax where it has one. BEA 2024 price levels (U.S. = 100) and Census ACS 2024 rent and home values for each metro area.
Parts of Maryland also belong to the Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia metro areas, which are centered outside Maryland.
Housing and home insurance in Maryland
| Measure | Maryland | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Median rent (monthly) | $1,721 | $1,487 |
| Median home value | $436,300 | $360,600 |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $2,770 | $2,298 |
| Income needed to buy the median home | $118,716 | $98,486 |
| Median property tax (yearly) | $4,144 | $3,211 |
| Homeowners insurance (yearly median, homes with a mortgage) | $1,371 | $1,450 |
Census ACS 2024 rent, home value and property tax, and ACS 2024 homeowners insurance. Cost to own: principal and interest at the Freddie Mac 30-year average (6.95%) with 20% down, plus the median property tax and the median homeowners insurance paid by owners with a mortgage. Premiums have risen since 2024, especially in high-risk areas, so get quotes. See buying a home in Maryland for other down payments.
Natural disaster risk in Maryland
Maryland's population-weighted score on FEMA's National Risk Index is 80.9 of 100, among the highest of U.S. counties and 26th safest of 51. Expected losses from natural hazards average about $172 per resident a year, and about 10% of residents live in counties FEMA rates relatively high or very high.
The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).
See disaster risk for every Maryland county and how to check a home's risk before you move.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people moving to Maryland come from?
In IRS migration data for 2022–2023, 83,281 households moved to Maryland from other states. The most came from Virginia (13,353 households), Washington, DC (9,213) and Pennsylvania (7,619).
What are the pros and cons of living in Maryland?
Where Maryland ranks best among the 50 states and D.C.: lowest Marketplace health premiums, 2nd lowest of 51; highest household incomes, 4th highest of 51. Where it ranks worst: highest state income tax, the highest of 51; highest electric bills, 5th highest of 51; highest overall prices, 8th highest of 51; highest car insurance costs, 8th highest of 51; highest rent, 9th highest of 51.
Is Maryland expensive to live in?
Overall prices in Maryland are 5.0% above the U.S. average (BEA price level 105.0, 2024), 44th cheapest of 51. Median rent is $1,721 a month and the median home is worth $436,300.
How long do I have to get a Maryland driver license after moving?
60 days after becoming a resident. Get a Maryland driver's license within 60 days of becoming a resident.
How long do I have to register my car in Maryland?
60 days. Title and register within 60 days, or you lose credit for tax paid in your prior state and may be cited. A Maryland safety inspection is required. Emissions (VEIP) testing applies in covered counties.
Do new residents pay tax on a car brought to Maryland?
The 6.5% titling excise tax is on the vehicle's value, with credit for tax paid in your prior state if you title within 60 days. If the prior state's rate was 6.5% or more, you pay $100. If it was lower, you pay the difference.
What makes me a Maryland resident?
The 60-day license, title and registration deadlines start when you become a Maryland resident, i.e. move there and live there.