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Bel Air South, Maryland

Bel Air South is an unincorporated community of about 58,000 people in Harford County, Maryland. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Baltimore, is about 22 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
58,137
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$405,900
Harford County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$123,653
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Baltimore area
104.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center
To Baltimore
22 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.5% above the U.S. average in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 7 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byUmd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 22 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bel Air South meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$405,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Harford County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,757 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$123,653U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,480 a yearMaryland: $4,093
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
104.5U.S. average = 100 (the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area, not Bel Air South alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
58,137The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
38.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
49%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (17%); government (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Umd Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, Bel Air, MD, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

12 public schools in Bel Air South, run by Harford County Public Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Harford Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Maryland's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
25°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
26 a year
Nights at or below freezing
83 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.9 inches a year
Snow
29 inches a year
Elevation
145 feet

Weather stations: Aberdeen Phillips Fld (8 miles away) and New Park (19 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Baltimore.

Harford County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hampton National Historic Site16 miles
  • Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine22 miles
  • National Capital Parks35 miles
  • First State National Historical Park44 miles
  • Greenbelt Park47 miles

Read about Bel Air South's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bel Air South?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Perryman, MD (unincorporated)2,174 people, 6 miles
  • Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (unincorporated)2,193 people, 10 miles
  • Darlington, MD (unincorporated)353 people, 11 miles
  • Pylesville, MD (unincorporated)933 people, 13 miles
  • Port Deposit, MD633 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.