Better schools are associated with higher home values. Studies show that home prices are higher in school districts where student test scores are higher. Realtors are aware of this connection and often feature the quality of local schools in their advertisements and in pricing property for sale. And buyers looking for stable and improving home values will focus on areas known for their good schools.
Maryland schools run the gamut from excellent to poor. The table below compares Howard County, ranked highest in the state, with Anne Arundel County – ranked in the middle, and Baltimore City, ranked close to the bottom. The data is largely from Niche.com, a website with extensive information on colleges and schools across the US.
Metric (source: Niche.com) | Howard County | Anne Arundel County | Baltimore City |
Overall Grade (Ranking Among Maryland School Districts) | A (Ranked #1 of 24) | B+ (Ranked #11 of 24) | C+ (Ranked #22 of 24) |
Median Home Price | $568,000 | $525,000 | $240,000 |
Median Household Income | $150,000 | $125,000 | $65,000 |
Expenses $/student | $17,875 | $16,387 | $18,753 |
Teacher Ranking | A- | B | B- |
Student-Teacher Ratio | 13:1 | 14:1 | 15:1 |
Average Graduation Rate | 93% | 88% | 71% |
Just as school quality varies from county to county, it can also vary between neighborhoods. Buyers should ask their agents which schools would serve a home that they are considering. This information is available on the MLS. They might also visit the schools and talk with neighbors to learn about a school’s culture and reputation. It also would be a good idea to check whether there are plans to rezone a school’s “watershed”, i.e., the neighborhoods which feed a school you may like.
If you have school-age children, spending more to purchase a home in a better public school district is usually better economically than buying a lower cost house and then paying to send your children to private school. For example, the median home price in Baltimore City is less than half the price of the median home in top-ranked Howard County. But private school tuition in the Baltimore area could cost $10,000 to $40,000 per child per year. In addition, buyers of Howard County homes can expect to recover the price premium when they sell, making their effective cost of good schools very low.
As important as schools are, they’re just one factor in choosing a place to live. Living in a historic, walkable city like Annapolis, close to the water and all the recreation opportunities that it brings, may be more important than schools to some buyers. Those are attractions that suburban Howard County does not offer. Each person and their vision of a perfect home is unique.
